REPORT 


OF    THE 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


!  STATE  IRRIGATION  CONVENTION 


Hl-Ll)  IX  ELECTRIC  HALL 


IN    THE 


CITY  OF  HELENA/MONTANA, 


Thursday,  Friday  and  Saturday, 
ANUARY  7,  s  AM)  9  1^92 


WITH  AN 

APPRNDIX 


tfwr 


irrigation  in  the  ( 


HELENA,    MONT.: 

INDEPENDENT   PUBLISHING   CO. 
1892 


REPORT 


OF   THE 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF   THE 


STATE  IRRIGATION  CONVENTION 


HELD  IN  ELECTRIC  HALL 


IN    THE 


CITY  OF  HELENA,  MONTANA, 


ON 


Thursday,  Friday  and  Saturday, 
•   JANUARY  7, 8  AND  9, 1892. 


WITH  AN 


Showing  the  State  of  Irrigation  in  the  Counties. 


HELENA,    MONT.: 

INDEPENDENT  PUBLISHING  CO. 
1892 


OFFICIAL  REPORT. 

Compiled  by  E.  D.  WEED,  B.  BROWN  and  W.  C.  CHILD, 
composing  the  Publication  Committee. 


583217 


GAL  LA 

FOR  THE 

STATE  IRRIGATION  CONVENTION. 

WHEREAS,  the  Irrigation  Congress  which  lately  met  at  Salt  Lake 
City,  Utah,  adopted  the  following  platform: 

Resolved,  That  this  congress  is  in  favor  of  granting  in  trust,  upon 
such  conditions  as  may  serve  the  public  interest,  to  the  states  and 
territories  needful  of  irrigation,  all  lands  now  a  part  of  the  public 
domain  within  such  states  and  territories,  excepting  mineral  lands, 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  irrigation,  to  render  the  lands  now  arid 
fertile  and  capable  of  supporting  a  population. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  convention  that  the.  committee 
selected  to  propose  and  present  to  Congress  the  memorial  of  this 
convention  respecting  public  lands,  should  ask  as  a  preliminary  to 
the  cession  of  all  the  lands  in  the  territories  in  accordance  with  the 
resolutions  of  the  convention,  a  liberal  grant  to  said  territories,  and 
to  the  States  to  be  formed  therefrom,  ot  the  public  lands  to  be  de- 
voted to  public  school  purposes. 

WHEREAS,  Large  areas  of  arid  lands  and  semi-arid  lands,  situated 
upon  the  great  plains  in  the  Dakotas,  western  Nebraska,  Kansas  and 
Oklahoma  were  settled  upon  in  good  faith,  by  homeseekers,  under 
the  supposition  that  they  were  entering  agricultural  lands,  and 

WHEREAS,  The  settlers  upon  such  lands  have  expended  much 
time  and  money  upon  the  same;  and  paid  into  the  United  States 
treasury  therefor  many  millions  of  dollars,  only  to  discover  that  irri- 
gation, to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  is  necessary  in  making  homes  for 
themselves  thereon;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  representatives  of  all  the  states  and  territories 
directly  interested  in  irrigation,  do  hereby  pledge  their  unwavering 
support  to  the  just  demands  of  such  settlers,  that  the  general  govern- 
ment shall  donate  at  least  a  portion  of  the  funds  received  from  the 
sale  of  such  lands  toward  the  procurement  of  the  means  necessary 
for  their  irrigation. 

Resolved,  That  this  Congress  heartily  endorse  the  irrigation  work 
of  the  agricultural  department  of  the  national  government  in  the 
collection  and  dissemination  of  information;  especially  its  admirable 
progress  reports  covering  the  whole  field  of  irrigation  development, 
and  that  it  favors  large  appropriations  for  this  work  hereafter. 

And  whereas  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  obtain  a  direct  expression 
of  the  people  of  this  state  npon  the  resolutions  aforesaid,  now  there- 
fore, for  that  purpose  and  to  that  end,  a  convention  is  hereby  called  to 
meet  at  the  city  of  Helena,  on  Thursday,  January  7,  1892,  at  12 
o'clock  m.  The  apportionment  of  delegates  has  been  made  as  fol- 
lows: Beaverhead,  6;  Choteau,  10;  Custer,  4;  Dawson,  2;  Deer 
Lodge,  28;  Fergus,  6;  Gallatin,  8;  Lewis  and  Clarke,  26;  Meagher,  8; 
Missoula,  22;  Madison,  8;  Park,  10;  Silver  Bow,  40;  Yellowstone,  5. 

The  Boards  of  County  Commissioners  of  the  several  counties  are 
earnestly  requested  to  appoint  delegates  at  their  December  meeting, 
according  to  the  foregoing  apportionment,  based  upon  two  delegates 
to  each  300  voters.  JOS.  K.  TOOLE, 

Governor  of  Montana. 


RESOLUTIONS 

ADOPTED   BY  THE 

MONTANA  STATE  IRRIGATION  CONVENTION 

Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  Convention  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  general  government  to  aid  in  the  development  by  irrigation  of  the 
arid  lands  in  the  several  states  and  territories  where  such  lands  exist; 
and  while  we  do  not  deem  it  desirable  that  the  control  and  title  of  such 
lands  should  pass  from  the  general  government  to  the  several'  States 
containing  them,  we  do  nevertheless  urge  at  least  that  the  proceeds 
arising  from  the  sale  of  such  lands  shall  be  applied  to  the  supply  of  water 
for  their  development  for  the  purpose  of  agriculture,  and  we  urge  upon 
our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress  to  use  every  effort  to 
accomplish  such  legislation  as  will  bring  about  this  desirable  result, 
not  only  in  our  own  State,  but  to  all  other  States  and  Territories  simi- 
larly situated. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  the  com- 
mittee selected  to  propose  and  present  to  Congress  the  memorial  of 
this  Convention  respecting  public  lands,  should  ask  in  accordance 
with  the  resolutions  of  this  Convention  a  liberal  grant  to  said  Terri- 
tories and  to  the  States  to  be  formed  therefrom  of  the  public  lands  to 
be  devoted  to  public  school  purposes. 

WHEREAS,  Large  areas  of  arid  lands  and  semi-arid  lands,  situated 
upon  the  great  plains  in  the  Dakotas,  western  Nebraska,  Kansas  and 
Oklahoma  were  settled  upon  in  good  faith,  by  home  seekers,  under 
the  supposition  that  they  were  entering  agricultural  lands,  and 

WHEREAS,  The  settlers  upon  such  lands  have  expended  much 
time  and  money  upon  the  same,  and  paid  into  the  United  States 
Treasury  therefor  many  millions  of  dollars,  only  to  discover  that  irri- 
gation, to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  is  necessary  in  making  homes  for 
themselves  thereon;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Representatives  of  all  the  States  and  Terri- 
tories directly  interested  in  irrigation,  do  hereby  pledge  their  un- 
wavering support  to  the  just  demands  of  such  settlers;  that  the  gen- 
eral government  shall  donate  at  least  a  portion  of  the  funds  received 
from  the  sale  of  such  lands  toward  the  procurement  of  the  means 
necessary  for  their  irrigation. 

WHEREAS,  The  Convention  has  heard  with  interest  the  reports 
from  different  parts  of  the  State  in  reference  to  the  matter  of  arte- 
sian wells  now  in  active  flow  in  different  localises,  therefore 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  earnestly  urge  upon  our  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  Congress  to  use  every  effort  to  secure  as 
large  an  appropriation  as  possible  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  ques- 
tion as  to  the  practicability  of  this  matter  of  water  supply  for  this 
State,  the  money  to  be  used  in  the  actual  sinking  of  wells,  and  not  in 
expensive  theorizing. 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  it  will  best  subserve  the  interests  of  this 
State  if  no  appropriation  whatever  be  made  under  the  direction  of 
Major  Powell,  of  the  government  geological  survey  for  the  state  of 
Montana.  But  we  do  ask  for  appropriation  for  scientific  research 
under  a  State  Department  of  Agriculture,  whereby  knowledge  of 
much  value  to  this  State  may  be  obtained  and  a  complete  check  of  all 
moneys  expended  be  made. 


REPORT   OF   PROCEEDINGS 

OF    THE 

STATE  IRRIGATION  CONVENTION 

Held  at  Helena,  Montana,  January,  8,  9,  10,  1892. 


THURSDAY  MORNING. 

January  8,  promptly  at  n  o'clock  A.  M.,  ex-Governor 
S.  T.  Hauser  called  the  State  Irrigation  Convention,  as- 
sembled in  answer  to  the  call  of  Governor  J.  K.  Toole, 
to  order.  He  referred  briefly  to  the  objects  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  then  introduced  Lieutenant  Governor  J.  K. 
Rickards,  who  welcomed  the  delegates  to  the  State  Cap- 
ital on  behalf  of  Governor  Toole.  The  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor said: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

I  am  sure  that  we  all  very  much  regret  that  the  Governor  of  the  State 
is  absent.  As  I  said  playfully  this  morning,  it  was  he  who  acted  as  mid- 
wife of  this  Convention,  and  it  would  be  eminently  fit  and  proper  that  he 
should  address  you  and  welcome  you  to  the  Capital.  It  is,  however,  my 
pleasure  to  fill  the  Governor's  place  and  welcome  you.  We  have  met 
at  the  call  of  our  most  worthy  Governor  to  consider  and  discuss  a  sub- 
ject which  is  filling  to-day  a  large  place  in  the  minds  of  the  people 
and  is  challenging  the  best  thought  of  our  ablest  statesmen.  I  do  not 
believe  it  is  expecting  too  much  of  you  to  say  that  this  Convention? 
made,  up  as  it  is  of  the  best  citizens,  will  mark  the  opening  of  a  new 
era  in  the  development  of  our  grand  State. 


8  '  '.RE^dRTioV  VRJOCEEDINGS 

I  am  proud  to  be  a  citizen  of  Montana.  I  enjoy  very  much  seeing 
the  coming  together  of  such  a  body  of  men  from  all  parts  of  the  State, 
and  I  enjoy  seeing  them  come  together  to  discuss  and  deliberate  upon 
such  momentous  questions  as  will  come  before  you.  I  enjoy  more 
than  I  can  find  words  to  express  witnessing,  on  the  eve  of  a  great 
political  struggle,  men  coming  together,  of  all  political  complexions, 
not  to  discuts  political  questions,  but  each  vicing  with  the  other  and 
actuated  by  public  interests,  to  render  the  best  service  to  this  State. 
[Applause.]  I  have  confidence  in  this  body  of  my  fellow  citizens. 
You  will  remember  that  when  Mr.  Gould  was  before  a  Senate  com- 
mittee the  question  was  asked  him,  "What  are  your  politics?"  Mr. 
Gould  answered:  "When  I  am  in  a  Democratic  district  I  am  a  Dem- 
ocrat; when  I  am  in  a  Republican  district  I  am  a  Republican,  and 
when  I  am  in  a  doubtful  district  I  am  doubtful,  but  I  am  always  an 
Erie  man."  So  that  I  say  I  have  confidence  in  this  body,  for  you 
would  not  have  come  here  at  the  call  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  if  you 
were  not  first  and  all  the  time  Montanians.  [Loud  applause.] 

Now,  I  think  you  all  appreciate  the  magnitude  of  the  questions 
that  will  come  before  you  and  the  object  of  this  Convention.  It  is 
not  my  purpose  to  attempt  any  discussion  of  the  subject.  I  am  sure, 
however,  that  in  deliberating  you  will  forget  all  partisan  discussion, 
and  that  there  will  be  a  unanimity  of  purpose  to  advance  the  material 
interests  of  the  grand  State  of  Montana. 

Now,  I  believe  it  is  expected  of  me  to  speak  a  few  words  of  wel- 
come. I  scarcely  know  how  to  do  this.  However,  I  will  say  that 
inasmuch  as  the  excellent  and  popular  Mayor  of  the  city  has  turned 
over  the  kevs  of  the  city,  so  it  is  fit  and  proper  for  me  to  turn  over 
the  keys  of  the  Executive  Mansion  and  Capitol  buildings — that  is  if 
you  can  find  them.  [Loud  laughter  and  applause.]  And  in  the  true 
Western  style  elevate  your  feet  on  the  table.  There  are  no  cuspidores 
on  the  floor  to  embarrass  you.  If  I  could,  I  would  like  to  turn  over 
to  you  the  combination  of  the  State  Treasury  safe,  but  the  State 
Treasurer  is  an  excellent  and  good-natured  gentleman,  who  will  do 
anything  he  can  for  you.  Now,  in  behalf  of  the  great  State  of  Mon- 
tana, of  which  we  are  all  proud  citizens,  I  welcome  you  to  the  Capi- 
tal, and  invoke  for  you  at  the  close  of  your  deliberations  the  verdict 
of  well  done  from  a  grateful  constituency.  I  say,  again,  welcome. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor's  ad- 
dress the  Chairman  introduced  Mayor  T.  H.  Klein- 
schmidt,  who  extended  to  the  delegates  the  freedom  of 
the  city  in  the  following  language: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Irrigation  Convention  : 

It  is  not  often  in  the  history  of  one  so  situated  as  myself  to  have 
the  privilege  of  extending  a  welcome  to  a  city  of  which  we  are  resi- 
dents. I  extend  a  hearty  welcome  to  you,  gentlemen,  and  can  add 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  9 

but  very  little  to  that  which  has  been  said  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
on  the  subject  for  which  you  are  assembled,  a  question  vital  to  the 
interests  of  this  State.  If  we  look  about  us  over  this  vast  territory 
that  only  requires  the  labor  of  husbandry  to  make  it  productive,  and 
more  productive  than  anr  other  state,  we  can  appreciate  the  task  of 
this  Congress  to  develop  and  submit  something  for  the  people  for 
them  to  act  on,  and  for  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  such  action.  I 
say  it  is  a  proud  privilege  to  extend  to  you  a  hearty  welcome  to  our 
city.  The  Lieutenant  Governor  says  he  will  turn  over  the  keys  if 
you  can  find  the  Capitol  buildings.  I  will  go  farther.  This  city  has 
no  keys;  the  gates  are  wide  open. 

W.  A.  Clark,  of  Silver  Bow:  I  assume  that  the  first 
appropriate  action  of  this  Convention  will  be  to  affect  a 
temporary  organization,  and  probably  the  appointment 
of  some  committees.  If  I  am  correct  in  this  I  will  take 
the  liberty  and  the  pleasure  of  placing  in  nomination  as 
temporary  chairman  of  this  Convention,  Hon.  S.  T. 
Hauser. 

Mr.  Clark  put  the  vote  and  declared  Mr.  Hauser  duly 
elected  as  temporary  chairman. 

Mr.  Hauser:  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I  thank 
you  for  the  compliment  and  honor,  and  I  am  at  your 
service. 

On  motion  George  W.  Irvine  II.,  of  Silver  Bow,  was 
elected  temporary  secretary. 

The  Chair  man :  I  expected  to  be  made  temporary 
chairman,  and  called  on  Mr.  Irvine,  who  promised  to 
make  a  speech  for  me. 

The  Chairman  then  introduced  Mr.  Irvine,  who  said: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

Governor  Hauser  has  been  treating  me  a  little  unfair.  I  can  recall 
no  conversation  of  the  kind.  I  wan  to  say  to  you  that  in  an  irriga- 
tion convention  I  am  not  well  equipped.  I  have  noticed  in  life  that 
every  single  possible  quantity  or  atom  of  organization  has  life.  I 
have  pursued  my  investigation  to  an  extent  that  I  have  found  there 
is  life  in  the  plant,  there  is  life  in  the  shrub,  there  is  life  in  the  tree, 
there  is  life  in  every  portion  of  the  earth.  All  that's  required  is  that 
it  be  called  into  actual  existence.  I  believe  the  serious  business  of 
this  convention  is  one  of  the  greatest  importance.  Our  people  from 
our  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  have  come  over  as  lay  members 
rather  than  as  active  members.  We  come  here  desiring  to  learn  and 
to  make  such  recommendations  a>  shall  present  themselves.  Of 
course  in  coming  to  ihis  Convention  we  believe  in  the  outline  of  the 
Salt  Lake  platform,  probably  differing  in  some  details.  The  manner 


IO  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

of  the  control  of  the  lands  and  their  disposal  to  corporations  and  indi- 
viduals is  all  a  matter  of  details.  The  turning  over  of  the  lands  to  the 
State  involves  a  number  of  collateral  questions.  We  have  the  ques- 
tion of  cutting  timber  on  the  public  domain.  It  is  relative  to  this 
question.  So  with  the  forestry  problem.  We  don't  want  this  matter 
relegated  to  the  keeping  of  a  few  gentlemen  in  the  East  who  base 
their  knowledge  of  the  subject  upon  the  reports  of  agents,  who  don't 
know  the  tamarack  monarch  of  the  forest  from  an  ordinary  bull  pine. 
I  say  candidly  that  the  question  of  the  control  of  the  forests  should 
also  be  turned  over  to  the  State.  Therefore  we  are  interested  in  get- 
ting their  control,  and  I  think  we  can  do  it  better  than  those  who  are 
assuming  to  care  for  the  American  forests. 

On  motion  of  John  W.  Thompson,  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke  county,  the  following  committee  on  credentials 
was  appointed: 

J.  M.  Patterson— Choteau.  O.  C.  Cooper— Missoula. 

J.  A.  Harris — Cascade.  W.  H.  Sutherlin — Meagher. 

W.  B.  S.  Higgins— Custer.  R.  O.  Hickman— Madison. 

J.  C.  Auld — Dawson.  W.  A.  Harrison — Park. 
Peter  Levengood — Deer  Lodge.      B.  F.  Leggett— Silver  Bow. 

E.  G.  Brooke— Jefferson.  A.  L.  Corbley— Gallatin. 

J.  A.  Browne— Beaverhead.  E.  D.  Weed — Lewis  and  Clark. 

B.  F.  Shuart— Yellowstone.  H.  L.  Fisher— Fergus. 

An  adjournment  was  taken  till  2  o'clock  p.  m. 


THURSDAY  AFTERNOON. 

Promptly  at  2  o'clock  Chairman  Hauser  called  the 
Convention  to  order.  Chairman  E.  D.  Weed,  of  the 
credentials  committee,  reported  the  following  delegates 
entitled  to  seats: 

Beaverhead—  H.  R.  Melton,  A.  Eliel,  Thomas  M.  Selwey,  W.  C. 
Orr,  John  C.  Brenner,  J.  A.  Browne. 

Custer— Sam  Gordon,  A.  M.  Cree,  W.  B.  S.  Higgins,  J.  W.  Strevell. 

Choteau— Thomas  C.  Burns,  Z.  T.  Burton,  J.  F.  Patterson,  J.  W. 
Power. 

Cascade—  Maurice  S.  Parker,  S.  B.  Robbins,  George  E.  Ingersoll, 
E.  D.  Hastie,  John  M.  Castner,  John  F.  Wegner,  John  W.  McKnight, 
John  A.  Harris,  H.  P.  Rolfe,  N.  T.  Porter. 

Da^vson — Jas.  G.  Ramsay,  J.  C.  Auld. 

Deer  Lodge — T.  C.  Davidson,  Allen  Kimmerly,  Peter  Levengood, 
J.  Stuckey,  Jno.  R.  Quigley,  P.  Jensen,  J.  Richey,  P.  Valiton,  Byron 
Wood,  W.  A.  Hansley,  C.  Hardenbrook,  N.  J.  Beilenberg,  D.  Berry, 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  II 

Jos.  Gough,  J.  W.  Blair,  M.  Geary,  G.  W.  Morse,  W.  Dingwall,  Wm. 
Wallace,  Jno.  Fetherman,  W.  T.  Elliott,  John  Gandell,  F.  M.  Durfee, 
B.  Parrott,  Wm.  Morton,  I.  Gibbs,  C.  F.  Mussigbrod,  E.  Girard. 

Gallatin— Walter  Cooper,  J.  W.  Caldwell,  William  Flannery,  O.  P. 
Chisholm,  W.  W.  Alderson,  Chas.  A.  Gregory,  A.  L.  Corbly,  H.  H. 
Sappington. 

Fergus— C.  W.  Baylies,  H.  L.  Fisher,  C.  M.  Goodell,  James 
Ettien,  David  Hilger  and  C.  V.  Peck. 

Jefferson— Ed  Cardwell,  G.  Ryan,  E.  G.  Brooke,  A.  L.  Love,  John 
Murray,  J.  I.  Winslow,  J.  Patterson,  A.  H.  Moulton,  B.  Townsley, 
W.  C.  Whaley. 

Lewis  and  Clarke— S.  T.  Hauser,  S.  Word,  W.  B.  Hundley,  J.  T. 
Murphy,  T.  H.  Kleinschmidt,  H.  M.  Parchen,  W.  E.  Cullen,  D.  S. 
Wade,  D.  A.  Cory,  J.  H.  Longmaid,  J.  B.  Clayberg,  A.  M.  Holter, 
John  W.  Thompson,  E.  D.  Weed,  J.  W.  Wade,  Donald  Bradford,  A.  J. 
Seligman,  A.  J.  Burns,  E.  Beach,  A.  C.  Botkin,  A.  G.  Lombard,  Abra- 
ham Thomas,  R.  H.  Howey,  W.  C.  Child,  F.  P.  Sterling. 

Meagher— J.  B.  Stafford,  C.  W.  Cook,  H.  Whaley,  J.  E.  K-anouse, 
W.  H.  Sutherlin,  N.  E.  Benson,  R.  H.  Clendenin,  W.  Brady. 

Missoula — John  E.  Cyr,  G.  Deschamps,  Mose  Clemens,  Peter 
Schaffer,  A.  A.  Fourier,  A.  G.  England,  M.  Flyn,  W.  J.  Brennan,  W. 
R.  Ramsdell,  Lyman  Loring,  A.  W.  Twaney,  J.  M.  Eastland,  E.  M. 
Ratcliff,  O.  C.  Cooper,  R.  A.  O'Hara,  G  W.  Ward,  J.  R.  Faulds,  J.  S. 
Robertson,  J.  L.  Hunter,  S.  Maclay,  J.  H.  Mills,  Frank  Borroughs. 

Madison— James  W.  Page,  Patrick  Carney,  H.  C.  Harrison,  A.  W. 
Tanner,  M.  D.  Jeffers,  A.  Metzel,  M.  Howes,  R.  O.  Hickman. 

Park— James  Vestal,  C.  C.  Day,  W.  A.  Harrison,  J.  F.  Work, 
James  Smith,  Samuel  Bundock,  J.  L.  Dellart,  A.  Myers. 

Silver  B oiv — D.  A.  Morrison,  WITT.  Bowe,  Jos.  S.  Harper,  J.  Carter, 
Thos.  Couch,  J.  R.  Boyce,  Jr.,  S.  F.  Fictchett,  C.  A.  Small,  T.  C. 
Jackson,  J.  McCauley,  W.  A.  Ralston,  P.  A.  Larger,  Thos.  O.  Miles, 
Earnest  Spear,  E.  Gregson,  H.  H.  Eccleston,  Levi  Cartier,  L.G.  Wun- 
derlich,  Wm.  Stolte,  Chas.  H.  Carver,  Simon  Hauswirth,  W.  A. 
Clark,  Geo.  H.  Casey,  John  A.  Leggatt,  Napoleon  Geneveaux,  C.  S. 
Baxter,  Wm.  Hamilton,  Lee  W.  Foster,  T.  M:  Robbins,  David  S.  Durey, 
Geo.  H.  Tong,  J.  G.  Maddox,  T.  C.  Miles,  J.  H.  McQueeney,  J.  J. 
Feeley,  J.  F.  Cowan,  Wm.  Woodward,  C.  L.  Bauman,  Geo.  W.  Irvine,  II. 
Telloivstone—ft.  F.  Shuart,  O'.ney  Taylor,  Charles  A.  Wenstrum, 
R.  J.  Martin. 

The  report  was  adopted  and  the  committee  was  made 
permanent. 

There  was  a  call  for  Senator  T.  C.  Power,  who  said: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

This  is  not  the  time  to  make  any  speeches.  I  believe  you  have 
assembled  from  all  parts  of  the  State  for  the  purpose  of  investigating 
this  great  question  of  irrigation  in  this  State,  and  I  will  not  delay  you 


12  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

at  this  time  with  any  speech;  but  after  you  proceed  with  business, 
and  want  to  ask  any  questions  about  government  aid,  I  will  be  glad  to 
answer  them,  and  I  will  be  in  readiness  to  do  that  to  the  best  of  my 
ability.  I  know  that  members  are  here  from  the  farming  sections 
who  want  to  return  as  soon  as  possible,  and  I  would  ask  that  we 
despatch  our  business  as  quickly  as  possible.  On  that  account  I  am 
not  going  to  say  anything  further  just  now. 

On  motion  the  following  Committee  on  Permanent 
Organization  and  Order  of  Business  was  appointed: 

Adolph  Eliel — Beaverhead.  A.  M.  Cree— Custer. 

John  W.  Power— Choteau.  E.  D.  Hastie— Cascade. 

J.  C.  Auld— Dawson.  G.  W.  Morris— Deer  Lodge. 

James  Ettien — Fergus.  Charles  A.  Gregory—  Gallatin. 

Edward  Ca»~d well— Jefferson.  W.  B.  Hundley —  Lewis  and  Clarke. 

Patrick  Carney — Madison.  J.  B.  Stafford — Meagher. 

A.  L.  England — Missoula.  Alfred  Myers— Park. 

J.  H.  McQueeney — Silver  Bow.  Olney  Taylor — Yellowstone. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Botkin,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  a  re- 
cess of  thirty  minutes  was  taken  in  order  to  give  the 
Committee  on  Permanent  Organization  and  Order  of 
Business  time  to  report. 

The  report  of  the  committee,  submitted  by  Chairman 
Alfred  Myers  and  read  by  Secretary  C.  A.  Gregory, 
was  as  follows: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

Your  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization  and  Order  of  Busi- 
ness beg  leave  to  report  as  follows: 

Samuel  T.  Hauser,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  President. 

C.  E.  Ingersoll,  of  Cascade,  Secretary. 

George  H.  Casey,  of  Silver  Bow,  Assistant  Secretary. 

S.  Alexander,  Sergeant  at  Arms. 

Morris  Langhorne  and  Eddy  Boos,  Pages. 

Order  of  Business — First,  election  of  officers;  second,  reading  of 
the  call  for  this  Convention;  third,  presentation  of  resolutions. 

We  recommend  that  all  resolutions  presented  to  this  Convention 
shall  be  in  writing,  and  that  the  same  shall  be  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions  without  debate.  We  also  recommend  that 
each  county  appoint  one  of  its  delegates  to  report  to  this  Convention 
the  state  of  irrigation  in  his  respective  county.  These  reports  to  be 
made  on  the  floor  of  this  house.  And  your  Committee  further  rec- 
onnmend  that  for  rules  this  Convention  shall  be  governed  by  the  per- 
manent rules  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Second  session 
of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Montana.  All  of  which  is  respect- 
fully submitted.  A.  MEYERS,  Chairman. 

CHARLES    A.  GREGORY,  Secretary. 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  1 3 

Mr.  Botkin,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  moved  to  amend 
the  report  by  striking  out  that  portion  of  it  recommend- 
ing that  resolutions  introduced  be  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions  without  discussion. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Committee  said  that  it  was  the 
opinion  of  the  Committee  that  resolutions  should  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  for  action,  and 
that  discussion  of  them  would  follow  after  the  report  of 
the  Committee  had  been  made  to  the  Convention. 

Mr.  Botkin :  It  would  be  well  if  they  could  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  for  presentation,  but 
not  if  they  are  to  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Res- 
olutions for  suppression,  and  that  is  very  apt  to  be  their 
fate.  I  hold  that  each  resolution  should  be  fairly  dis- 
cussed. [Applause.] 

The  motion  on  the  amendment  was  put  by  the  Chair- 
man and  carried. 

Mr.  Meyers:  I  move  to  amend  the  report  by  making 
George  W.  Irvin  II.,  of  Silver  Bow,  Vice  President  of 
this  Convention.  Seconded  and  unanimously  carried. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  as  amended  was  unani- 
mously adopted. 

A  motion  was  adopted  that  a  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions, consisting  of  one  member  from  each  county,  be 
constituted,  to  be  selected  by  the  Chairman  of  each  dele- 
gation. The  following  were  named  as  members  of  the 
Committee: 

H.  R.  Melton — Beaverhead.  Samuel  Gordon — Custer. 

M.  S.  Parker — Cascade.  Z.  T.  Burton — Choteau. 

James  R.  Ramsey — Dawson.  N.  J.  Beilenberg— -Deer  Lodge. 

Clarence  Goodall— Fergus.  O.  P.  Chisholm  -  Gallatin. 

O.  L.  Love — Jefferson.  A  C.  Botkin — Lewis  and  Clarke. 

A.  W.  Tanner— Madison.  W.  H.  Sutherlin— Meagher. 

R.  E.  O'Hara— Missoula.  J.  L.  De  Hart— Park. 

W.  A.  Clark— Silver  Bow.  B.  F.  Shuart — Yellowstone. 

There  was  a  call  for  Chairman  Hauser  to  make  a 
speech  on  his  election  as  permanent  chairman,  and  in  re- 
ply he  said: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 

1  certainly  appreciate  the  high  honor,  and  also  the  importance  of 
this  Convention  When  I  was  asked  to  call  the  Convention  to  order 
by  our  absent  Governor  I  particularly  requested  that  I  should  be 
allowed  about  two  or  three  hours  to  make  a  speech.  He  did  not 


14  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

think  I  should  occupy  the  attention  of  the  Convention  that  long. 
With  that  understanding  I  consented  to  act  as  temporary  chairman. 
At  first  I  did  not  take  much  interest  in  this  question.  I  have  paid  as 
high  as  40  cents  an  inch  for  water  during  the  last[ten  or  fifteen  years, 
and  higher  than  that  for  other  irrigants.  But  I  find  it  is  a  better 
plan  to  stand  by  water.  If  we  stand  by  this  subject  we  will  awaken 
an  interest  in  the  people  of  the  east.  We  have  stood  by  them  for 
years  in  their  appropriations  of  millions,  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
we  should  not  get  these  lands.  When  this  question  was  broached  to 
me  in  making  me  temporary  chairman,  I  hadjiot  taken  much  thought 
of  it.  My  interests  had  been  in  mining,  cattle  and  sheep.  I  thought 
it  perfectly  ridiculous  to  subscribe  toward  the  Helena  artesian  well 
fund.  The  facts  are  that  when  you  measure  the  water  in  the  Prickly 
Pear  Valley  flowing  to  waste  in  the  months  of  June  and  July,  there  is 
enough  to  irrigate  this  entire  valley.  I  had  not  paid  any  attention  to 
irrigation  up  to  this  time.  I  did  not  think  there  was  anything  in  it, 
but  the  time  will  come  when  we  will  all  think  so.  I  believe  this  is 
the  most  important  question  raised  in  any  country.  There  are  lands 
in  the  Prickly  Pear  valley  that  without  water,  if  sold  by  the  sheriff, 
would  not  be  worth  $5  per  acre.  With  water  on  them  they  are 
worth  from  $50  to  $75  per  acre. 

There  seems  to  be  some  disposition  among  those  who  differ  in 
politics  with  me  -like  my  friend  Power,  for  instance -not  to  take 
these  lands.  I  have  been  in  Montana  too  long  for  that.  If  anybody 
is  going  to  give  me  anything,  I  am  going  to  take  it.  Montana  men 
know  how  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

On  taking  his  seat  next  to  the  Chairman,  as  Vice 
Chairman,  Mr.  Irvine,  of  Silver  Bow,  said:  "I  am  very 
much  gratified  at  the  compliment  paid  me.  I  do  not 
consider  that  I  have  any  particular  intelligence  that  can 
go  very  far  toward  enlightening  the  gentlemen  before 
me,  and  I  think,  if  speech  is  silver,  silence  is  golden,  I 
will  take  the  liberty  of  sitting  down.  After  the  elo- 
quence of  the  Chairman  I  am  certainly  silenced  for  once 
in  my  life." 

A.  J.  Seligman,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  In  order  to 
bring  the  matter  to  a  focus  I  will  move  that  each  county 
be  entitled  to  the  entire  number  of  votes  that  the  appor- 
tionment calls  for,  and  that  the  majority  of  that  county 
cast  the  votes  of  the  absentees. 

Z.  T.  Burton,  of  Choteau:  I  believe  this  Convention 
was  called  under  certain  rules  directed  to  the  boards  of 
county  commissioners,  this  Convention  having  been 
called  by  the  Governor.  It  seems  to  me  it  would  be 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  15 

arrogating  authority  to  ourselves  by  making  delegates 
who  had  never  been  chosen  by  the  Commissioners. 

Mr.  Leggatt,  of  Silver  Bow:  In  calling  the  roll  I 
noticed  one  county  had  but  one  delegate  here.  It  would 
be  unfair  for  Dawson  county,  which  has  the  largest 
interest  in  this  matter,  to  be  represented  by  one  man.  -  I 
therefore  second  the  motion  that  each  county  be  entitled 
to  its  full  quota. 

R.  O.  Hickman,  of  Madison:  The  gentleman  from 
Silver  Bow  speaks  of  Dawson  County.  Mr.  Ramsey 
has  been  selected  as  a  delegate  with  Mr.  Auld. 

Mr.  Botkin  sent  the  following  resolution  to  the  Secre- 
tary's desk: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  reservoirs, 
canals,  ditches  and  other  works  of  irrigation,  in  case  such  policy  is 
permitted  by  the  Constitution,  be  taxed  not:  on  the  cost  or  appraised 
valuation,  but  upon  the  income  actually  received  from  the  sales  of 
water. 

R.  H.  Howey,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke :  It  occurs  to  me 
that  is  a  proposition  I  would  like  to  hear  from  some  one 
on  who  is  conversant  with  the  proposition,  giving  the 
reasons  for  its  adoption;  or  it  ought  perhaps  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  Botkin :  I  would  be  very  glad,  as  a  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  to  hear  some  expression 
from  the  Convention. 

Mr.  Melton,  of  Beaverhead:  If  there  is  anything  I 
am  opposed  to  in  this  matter  it  is  haste.  I  am  inclined 
to  be  in  favor  of  the  resolution.  I  am  not  yet  able  to 
catch  the  full  meaning  of  that  resolution.  I  believe  it 
should  be  turned  over  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 
Let  us  go  slow  in  this  matter;  let  us  do  what  we  do 
intelligently,  and  then  we  will  not  regret  it  or  do  it  over 
again. 

Mr.  Word,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  I  move  that  the 
resolution  be  made  a  special  order  at  10  o'clock  to-mor- 
row morning. 

Mr.  Weed:  The  Convention  would  like  to  hear  from 
the  author  of  the  resolution. 

Mr.  Botkin:  Mr.  President,  I  beg  leave  to  -submit 
that  I  am  peculiarly  unfitted  to  express  any  conviction- 
about  the  policy.  It  is  because  I  sought  knowledge  and 
not  to  impart  it  that  I  introduced  the  resolution.  The 


l6  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

policy  suggests  itself  to  me  as  one  wholly  to  be  desired. 
It  seems  to  me  that  a  man  who  invests  large  sums  of 
money  in  irrigation  should  not  be  taxed  until  those  in- 
vestments should  have  become  fruitful.  I  can  hardly  see 
how  we  can  invite  capital  to  engage  in  enterprises  of 
this  character  if  taxation  shall  commence  before  the 
earning. 

R.  H.  Howey:  That  is  one  side  of  that  proposition, 
but  it  strikes  me  that  there  might  be  another  side  to  it. 
The  poor  fellow  who  takes  up  a  desert  land  claim  is  not 
exempt.  If  you  exempt  one  side  why  not  exempt  the 
other?  I  think  it  would  be  a  fair  proposition  to  include 
the  other  side;  to  include  the  poor  fellows  on  the  home- 
steads. 

W.  A.  Clark:  I  have  simply  one  word  to  say  on  the 
proposition.  I  believe  in  encouraging  by  every  legiti- 
mate means  all  kinds  of  enterprises  in  this  State  that  will 
help  to  build  it  up,  but  I  do  not  see  how  it  would  be  or 
could  be  done  equitably,  to  pass  any  legislation  that 
would  discriminate  particularly  in  favor  of  any  particular 
enterprise.  Of  course  in  anything  like  mining,  which 
might  be  termed,  in  the  language  of  insurance  people, 
"extra  hazardous,"  there  might  be  some  exceptions,  and 
I  believe  that  has  been  incorporated  in  the  Constitution 
of  this  State.  But  so  far  as  irrigation,  perhaps,  is  con- 
cerned, I  believe  before  entering  upon  any  enterprises  of 
this  character  we  ought  to  calculate  the  chances  of  suc- 
cess, and  not  discriminate  in  favor  of  monopolists.  I  beg 
to  suggest  that  it  would  be  in  conflict  with  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Montana  for  the  Legislature  to  make  any  excep- 
tion of  this  character.  The  Constitution  says  that  prop- 
erty of  every  character  shall  be  taxed  its  full  value. 
Legislation  of  this  kind  cannot  be  had  until  the  Constitu- 
tion shall  be  first  amended. 

Mr.  Burton :  There  should  be  in  my  opinion  no  con- 
flict between  gentlemen  largely  interested  in  the  mining 
industry  and  gentlemen  who  are  interested  in  building 
irrigation  canals  and  reservoirs.  If  the  Constitution  of 
this  State,  as  it  wisely  did,  looked  upon  the  development 
of  mining  property  as  largely  speculative,  in  what  view 
can  it  be  said  that  a  man  who  erects  large  irrigation  en- 
terprises does  not  invest  his  money  in  works  which  are 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  17 

largely  of  a  speculative  character?  As  a  constitutional 
question  we  cannot  determine  it,  but  as  the  sense  of  this 
Convention  we  can  determine  it.  I  believe  a  canal 
should  be  taxed  according  to  the  value  placed  on  it,  but 
its  actual  value  to  be  determined  from  the  sale  of  its 
water. 

John  W.  Thompson,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  I  heartily 
agree  with  Mr.  Burton.  Permit  me  to  say  that  there 
are  men  on  the  floor  of  this  Convention  who  have  in- 
vested largely  in  irrigation  enterprises  who  will  have  ta 
wait  some  years  before  they  derive  any  revenue  from 
them.  Why  should  we  be  taxed  until  we  have  a  rev- 
enue? 

A.  M.  Holter,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  This  resolution 
should  go  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  let  them 
take  time  to  consider  it  in  regard  to  the  taxation.  On 
the  constitutional  question  I  want  to  say  that  a  canal  or 
ditch  is  simply  a  right  of  way,  the  same  as  a  road.  The 
Constitution  does  not  make  any  provision  for  assessing 
roads  or  highways.  I  move  that  this  resolution  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  and  be  disposed 
of  to-morrow. 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried. 

Mr.  Strevell,  of  Custer:  I  desire  to  make  a  suggestion, 
I  have  prepared  a  resolution,  but  I  will  premise  it  with  a  few 
remarks.  The  Governor  in  calling  this  Convention 
called  it  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  action  taken 
by  another  Convention  at  Salt  Lake  City,  and  it  seems 
to  me  that  it  is  desirable  to  confine  ourselves  to  the  bus- 
iness for  which  the  Governor  called  this  Convention;  to- 
bring  that  business  before  the  Convention  at  the  earliest 
moment.  If  I  remember  the  call,  the  Governor  has  sug- 
gested to  the  Convention  whether  it  would  adopt  the 
course  taken  at  Salt  Lake.  Now,  it  is  desirable  to  bring 
that  call  before  this  Convention.  It  is  in  the  nature  of 
an  address  to  a  legislature.  I  move  that  the  call  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  to  report  at  the 
earliest  practicable  moment,  to  bring  before  the  Conven- 
tion the  main  purpose.  I  think  I  am  justified  in  asking 
this.  The  question  is  whether  we  will  or  will  not  ratifv 
the  action  of  the  Salt  Lake  Convention. 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried. 


l8  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

Mr.  Donald  Bradford  offered  the  following: 

WHEREAS,  Montana  contains  93,349,200  acres;  38,000,000  acres 
comprise  our  ranges.  Interspersed  with  these  are  30,000,000  acres  of 
farming  lands,  and 

WHEREAS,  Montana  has  limitless  latent  wealth,  the  fact  must  be 
recognized  that  we  are  face  to  face  with  a  vast  problem,  that  we  must 
prepare  now  to  solve  and  not  procrastinate  till  too  late  to  properly 
and  economically  master  it,  and 

WHEREAS,  It  is  fair  to  assume  15,000,000  acres  to  be  the  area  sub- 
ject to  all  practicable  means  of  irrigation.  Fifteen  million  acres, 
properly  watered,  means  1,000,000  additional  rural  population.  Canals 
for  1,000,000  population  mean,  not  alone  irrigation,  but  demands  for 
water  power,  for  manufactories,  water  for  houses,  for  cities  and  vil- 
lages, and  consequently  a  well  balanced  law  prepared  in  the  light  of 
the  experience  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  of  Egyt  and  of  India, 
that  have,  in  a  measure,  overcome  the  difficulties  in  the  proper  distri- 
bution of  water;  a  law  anticipating  the  need  of  reservoir  site-  in 
every  locality  possessing  irrigable  lands,  to  prevent  their  occupancy 
and  ultimate  enlarged  outlay  in  condemnation;  a  law  that  will  place 
under  the  control  of  each  district  or  drainage  area  their  water  supply, 
and  will  reduce  the  cost  to  a  minimum;  that  will  prevent  discrimina- 
tion as  between  landholders,  and 

WHEREAS,  The  constitutional  life  of  the  Legislature  will  not  per- 
mit of  an  investigation  or  the  research  the  importance  of  the  subject 
demands,  therefore  be  it 

Resolvrd,  By  the  Convention,  constituting  representatives  from 
different  portions  of  the  State,  that  a  committee  of  one  from  each 
county  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  this  Convention  with  power 
to  prepare  a  bill  and  present  it  to  the  next  legislature,  which  bill  shall 
embodv  the  following  general  points,  to-wit:  The  creation  of  a  State 
Irrigation  and  Immigration  Commission,  which  shall  be  appointed  by 
the  Governor,  together  with  a  State  Engineer,  which  Commission 
shall  have  power,  through  the  State  Engineer,  to  divide  the  State 
into  districts,  according  to  natural  slopes;  to  prepare  plans  for  the 
construction  of  the  necessary  canals  and  reservoirs  or  other  works 
of  any  district;  to  have  sole  control  of  the  construction;  to  cause  the 
organization  of  any  such  district  by  the  election  by  'he  legal  voters  of 
such  district  of  five  trustees,  who  shall  exercise  control  of  such  canal, 
reservoir  or  other  work  of  construction;  issue  bonds  of  such  district 
for  construction;  levy  taxes  and  otherwise  provide  for  sinking  fund, 
interest  and  repairs,  subject  in  all  cases  to  the  laws  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Bradford,  in  support  of  his  resolution,  said : 

Mr  President: 

I  have  prepared  and  introduced  these  resolutions  with  a  view  to 
crystalizing  to  some  extent,  and  bringing  before  this  body  the  ques- 
tion how  the  arid  lands  of  Montana  are  to  be  made  habitable  for  the 
accommodation  of  a  vast  population.  In  conridering  the  best  method 
of  accomplishing  this  object,  we  should  try  to  realize  the  work,  not 
only  this  Convention  and  the  next  Legislature,  but  this  epoch  has 
mapped  out  for  its  achievement  by  the  demands  of  civilization.  We 
should  bring  home  to  our  minds  the  fact  that  the  public  domain,  in 
the  rain  belt,  has  practically  become  exhausted;  that  the  so-called 
arid  region,  known  in  early  days  as  the  "Great  American  Desert,"  is 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  19 

the  last  resort  as  a  relief  for  the  millions  of  population  annually  flow- 
ing into  the  United  States;  that  the  eastern  States  are  in  a  constant 
state  of  gestation  and  of  delivery;  that  these  youths  are  seeking  out- 
lets for  their  ambition,  and  that  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  arid 
region,  the  land  of  gold  and  silver,  is  the  Mecca  toward  which  they 
all  turn  their  hopes.  Therefore,  I  say,  we  must  impress  upon  our 
minds  the  grandeur  of  the  responsibility  resting  upon  this  Conven- 
tion, of  creating  for  this  influx  of  humanity  an  avenue  through  which 
it  may  quickly  utilize  its  energy. 

There  are  several  plans  extant  that  attempt  to  cover  the  ground, 
but,  according  to  my  judgment,  are  seriously  defective  in  the  most 
vital  requisites.  First,  the  question  arises,  shall  the  national  or  state 
governments  exercise  general  supervision?  Second,  if  either,  shall 
the  ownership  be  by  private  corporations  and  individuals,  with  State 
supervisors,  as  in  Colorado;  State  ownership  and  control,  as  in  India; 
ownership  by  the  people  in  districts  through  a  board  of  directors  that 
exercise  absolute  control,  without  any  higher  supervision,  as  in  Cali- 
fornia; or  the  plan  propo-ed  in  the  resolutions,  of  district  ownership 
and  control  with  ultimate  supervision  both  in  construction  and  dur- 
ing operation  by  a  permanent  and  competent  State  board  or  com- 
mission. 

I  will  attempt  to  discuss  each  scheme  as  it  is  here  presented: 
First — National  control  and  perhaps  construction  is  impracticable  for 
the  reason  that  it  is  too  vast  for  comprehensive  supervision  by  one 
man  or  one  board  of  the  minutia  of  each  individual  enterprise  in  the 
whole  arid  region — comprising  Montana,  Idaho,  Washington,  Ore- 
gon, California,  the  Dakotas,  Wyoming,  Colorado,  Nebraska,  Kansas, 
Utah,  Arizona,  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  containing  150,000,000  acres 
of  irrigable  and  500,000,000  acres  of  grazing  lands.  Second — It  gives 
too  much  power  to  the  Central  uovernment  through  patronage. 
Third— It  would  be  a  tax  upon  States  in  no  way  benefitted.  Fourth  — 
The  management  would  likely  prove  incompetent  in  that  political 
favoritism  would  soon  be  the  basis  of  all  appoi"tments  and  the  people 
would  have  no  remedy. 

Fifth — Irrigation  is  essentially  a  local  question  that  should  be  gov- 
erned from  its  inception  by  local  powers.  Sixth  —Irrigation  securi- 
ties will  gain  comparatively  little  through  government  guaranty — as 
under  the  plan  proposed  in  the  resolutions — the  security  would  be  so 
ably  proven  by  a  competent  State  Commission,  aided  hy  a  State  En- 
gineer, that  no  question  of  the  feasibility  of  any  enterprise  would 
arise.  Seventh — The  argument  that  the  national  government  should 
control  because  of  any  inter-state  complications  that  may  arise  is 
unsound,  for  the  reason  that  the  United  States  courts  have  jurisdic- 
tion over  all  litigation  between  States  and  the  citizens  of  the  several 
States.  The  same  courts  would,  under  the  national  plan,  adjudicate 
all  dispute >  arising  from  the  use  of  water  from  a  stream  penetrating 
two  or  more  States. 


2O  REPORT   OF    PROCEEDINGS 

The  Colorado  plan  can  be  diposed  of  by  the  statement  of  the  sim- 
ple fact  that  to  set  up  a  barrier  between  life  and  the  means  of  sustain- 
ing life  is  an  unnatural  condition,  and  therefore  would  not  be  toler- 
ated for  a  long  period  by  the  people,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
State  controls.  The  fact  that  a  corporation  has  the  fee-simple  in  the 
v/ater  or  the  means  of  distribution  and  declares  division  of  profits 
from  the  proceeds  of  sale  is  sufficient  reason  why  corporations  should 
not  exist.  The  further  fact  that  nature  decrees  the  use  of  irrigation 
is  an  unanswerable  argument  against  a  monopoly  of  the  distribution 
of  water. 

India  is  a  congregation  of  ignorance,  poverty  and  slavery  that,  not 
being  blessed  by  comparatively  universal  civilization  as  is  here  exem- 
plified, could  not,  through  a  popular  vote  of  the  masses,  provide  for 
-an  intelligent  system  of  irrigation  other  than  by  imperial  manage- 
ment. 

Irrigation  in  California  is  regulated  by  the  law  known  as  the 
^'Wright  law,"  whereby  fifty  or  more  holders  of  title,  or  evidence  of 
title,  to  lands  susceptible  of  one  mode  of  irrigation  from  a  common 
source  and  by  the  same  system  of  works,  may  petition  the  county 
supervisors  to  cause  the  organization  of  a  district  according  to  the 
details  prescribed  under  the  law  which  provides  for  the  election  of  a 
district  board  of  directors,  which  board  has  the  power  to  construct 
canals  or  other  works,  issue  bonds,  assess  property  through  a  district 
assessor,  sit  as  a  board  of  equalization,  and  in  all  respects  regulate  the 
affairs  pertaining  to  irrigation  in  the  district. 

Should  the  area  called  for  in  the  petition  extend  into  two  or  more 
counties,  the  supervisors  of  the  county  within  which  the  petition  orig- 
inated shall  notify  the  supervisors  of  the  other  counties  within  whose 
boundaries  the  district  extends  of  the  fact  that  such  district  is  organ- 
ized, and  such  other  supervisors  are  enjoined  from  interfering  with  or 
overlapping  such  district  boundaries  with  any  other  district  boun- 
daries. 

The  defects  in  this  law  are  so  apparent  it  is  necessary  only  to  men- 
tion them  in  comparison  with  the  plan  proposed  in  the  resolutions  to 
show  that  while  the  California  law  is  a  decided  step  in  advance  and  is 
the  best  existing  law,  it  is  far  from  being  what  it  should  be.  It  will 
be  noted  that  a  district  may  extend  into  two  or  more  counties;  that 
the  district  is  established  by  the  supervisors  of  one  without  the  neces- 
sary co-operation  of  the  other  boards,  wherein  lies  a  foundation  for 
conflict  between  the  counties.  The  plan  proposed  in  the  resolutions 
would  obviate  this  fault  by  giving  to  a  central  state  commission  the 
power  to  fix  the  boundaries  of  a  district,  to  regulate  its  organization 
and  to  pass  upon  all  disputes  as  between  districts — counties  as  such 
having  no  jurisdiction.  The  California  law  gives  to  the  board  of 
•county  supervisors  and  lo  the  board  of  directors  of  a  district  the  sole 
power  of  deciding  upon  the  feasibility  of  a  scheme  of  irrigation. 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  21 

Such  boards,  from  the  nature  of  things  (their  members  not  being  as 
a  rule  engineers),  are  incompetent  to  judge  of  the  practicability  of  a 
project;  more  than  likely  they  would  employ  a  local  engineer  with 
little  or  no  expeiience,  and,  too,  local  bias  would  probably  affect  a 
board  composed  necessarily  of  farmers  whose  interests  would  de- 
mand the  construction  of  works  and  the  expenditure  of  money  in  the 
purchase  of  products  of  the  farm.  This  plan  is  met  in  the  proposed 
law  by  the  creation  of  a  state  commission,  which  would  be  made  up  of 
engineers  of  known  ability,  with  an  engineering  department  thor 
oughly  fortified  with  all  data  bearing  upon  the  drainage  and  lands  of 
the  whole  State — the  number  of  acres  susceptible  of  irrigation  and 
the  supply  of  water  permanently  available  under  all  circumstances; 
the  cost  of  construction  of  the  necessary  works  and  the  size  and  class 
of  work  most  suitable.  I  have  been  informed  that  out  of  $24,000,000 
in  bonds  issued  under  the  California  law  only  $5,000,000  have  been 
sold,  leaving  $19,000,000  unsold,  caused,  in  my  judgment,  wholly  by 
the  lack  of  faith  in  the  ability  and  honor  of  local  boards.  Without 
the  confidence  of  the  financial  world  in  our  securities  it  is  heedless  to 
attempt  the  reclamation  of  this  empire  of  Montana. 

This  proposed  law  contemplates  the  management  of  immigration 
to  the  State.  Through  state  management  immigration  would  be 
under  absolute  control,  as  any  tract  of  lands  could  be  reclaimed  and 
systematically  settled  by  any  class  desired,  through  colonies  or  by  in- 
dividuals. All  settlers  would  secure  employment  upon  public  works 
in  course  of  construction  for  one  or  two  years,  thus  aiding  in  building 
up  each  locality;  in  the  meanwhile  farms  would  be  tilled,  houses  and 
fences  erected,  and  prosperity  would  reign  by  the  time  water  could 
be  delivered.  In  addition  it  will  place  in  circulation  millions  of  dol- 
lars that  will  be  repaid  by  its  own  results. 

The  State  will  soon  reap  the  full  fruition  of  such  wise  legislation 
by  all  such  lands  becoming  subject  to  tax.  Not  alone  will  Montana 
gain  by  the  immediate  output  of  these  lands — the  population  thus  en- 
hanced will  crea'e  a  growing  demand  for  manufactories,  woolen  mills, 
iron  furnaces,  flouring  mills,  sugar  and  cheese  factories  and  cream- 
eries and  the  innumerable  accessories  of  such  industries  will  spring 
up  and  add  to  the  prosperity  of  our  commonwealth.  Railroads  run 
by  electricity,  generated  under  the  pressure  of  our  mountain  streams, 
will,  penetrate  every  sec  ion,  and  Montana  will  lead  not  alone  in  min- 
eral, but  in  the  production  of  every  other  source  of  wealth.  I  have 
in  my  possession  the  laws  of  every  country  practicing  irrigation,  and 
I  believe  that  a  law  carrying  out  the  ideas  as  expressed  in  the  resolu- 
tions, as  offered,  will  prove  efficacious  in  every  emergency,  as  it  will 
embody  the  best  parts  of  all,  and  will  avoid  the  t.rrors  as  well.  The 
people  now  own  the  water  in  some  states;  they  should  own  ir.  in  all 
and  exercise  ownership  over  the  means  of  distribution.  In  this  way 
only  can  conflicts  be  avoided  and  much  litigation  prevented. 


22  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

On  motion  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Bradford  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Irvine,  of  Silver  Bow,  the  press  was 
invited  to  publish  the  resolution  and  argument  of  Mr. 
Bradford  in  full. 

Mr.  Leggatt,  of  Silver  Bow,  moved  that  the  rules  be 
suspended,  and  that  all  resolutions  be  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions  without  debate.  The  motion 
was  lost. 

Adjourned  until  10  A.  M.,  January  8,  1892. 


FRIDAY  MORNING,  JANUARY  8. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  10  o'clock 
Friday  morning  by  Chairman  Hauser. 

Samuel  Word,  in  a  short  speech,  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  day  was  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of 
Andrew  Jackson. 

Senator  Power:  I  would  say  to  the  Convention  that 
we  are  very  much  obliged  to  the  gentleman  from  Lewis 
and  Clarke  for  putting  us  in  mind  of  what  has  been 
done,  but  the  question  before  us  is  what  we  want  to 
heed.  Keep  your  eyes  open.  We  do  not  want  our 
attention  diverted  just  now.  What  we  want  to  do  is  to 
keep  our  powder  dry  and  our  eyes  on  the  guns.  I  will 
now  ask  for  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

The  Secretary  read  as  follows: 

Hon.  S.  T.  Hauser,  President  of  the  Irrigation  Convention: 

The  Committee  on  Resolutions  beg  leave  to  make  the  following 
report:  The  platform  of  the  Salt  Lake  Convention,  after  due  consid- 
eration, is  referred  back  to  this  Convention  without  recommendation, 
further  than  that  said  platform  be  referred  to  the  committee  of  the 
whole  for  discussion. 

W.  A.  CLARK,  Chairman. 

Mr.  Strevell,  of  Custer:  I  move  that  the  report  be 
received  and  adopted. 

Mr.  Word,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  I  move  to  amend 
by  receiving  it  and  lay  the  report  on  the  table  for  the 
action  of  this  Convention  without  being  adopted. 

A.  J.  Seligman,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  Will  you 
kindly  state  what  effect  it  will  have  as  amended? 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  23 

Mr.  Word:  Simply  to  lay  on  the  table,  to  be  called 
up  at  any  time  by  any  member.  It  is  there  for  the  action 
of  the  Convention.  Possibly  it  can  be  taken  up  in  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  as  a  special  order.  It  is  on  the  table 
subject  to  the  call  of  the  Convention. 

Mr.  Strevell,  of  Custer:  If  the  report  is  immedi- 
ately adopted,  it  will  bring  the  matter  before  the  Con- 
vention— the  action  of  the  Salt  Lake  Convention.  I 
hope  the  amendment  will  not  prevail. 

Mr.  Word :     I  withdraw  my  amendment. 

Senator  Power:  I  understand  the  business  before  the 
Convention  is  whether  it  will  adopt  the  Salt  Lake  plat- 
form, which  means  segregation. 

Mr.  Strevell:     I  beg  your  pardon;  that  is  not  it  at  all. 

The  Chairman:     I  think  the  Senator  is  out  of  order. 

Senator  Power:     I  will  give  up  the  floor. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Strevell  was  put  and  carried. 

Mr.  Clark,  of  Silver  Bow:  I  move  that  the  Conven- 
tion resolve  itself  into  committee  of  the  whole  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Salt  Lake  platform. 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried.  The  President  called 
Mr.  Chisholm  of  Gallatin  County  to  trie  chair. 

IN    COMMITTEE    OF    THE    WHOLE. 

The  Chairman:  We  are  now  in  committee  of  the 
whole  for  the  discussion  of  the  Salt  Lake  platform. 

Mr.  Strevell,  of  Custer:  I  move  that  the  resolu- 
tions embracing  the  action  of  the  Salt  Lake  Conven- 
tion be  taken  up  seriatim.  The  main  point  for  discus- 
sion in  this  Convention  will  be  raised  upon  the  resolu- 
tions. I  move  that  they  be  taken  up  in  order. 

On  motion  of  John  W.  Thompson  the  Secretary  read 
the  call  of  the  Governor  for  the  Convention. 

The  Chairman:  The  Secretary  will  now  read  the 
first  section  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Salt  Lake  Conven- 
tion. 

The  Secretary  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  this  Congress  is  in  favor  of  granting  in  trust,  upon 
such  conditions  as  mav  serve  the  public  interest,  to  the  states  and  ter- 
ritories needful  of  irrigation,  all  lands  now  a  part  of  the  public  do- 
main within  such  states  and  territories,  excepting  mineral  lands,  for 
the  purpose  of  developing  irrigation,  to  render  the  lands  now  arid 
fertile  and  capable  of  supporting  a  population. 


24  REPORT   OF    PROCEEDINGS 

The  Chairman  recognized  Senator  Power,  who  said: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 

I  am  not  going  to  take  up  your  time  by  making  any  remarks  on 
this  section,  but  on  the  subject  from  its  beginning,  from  its  incipiency, 
to  the  present,  if  that  is  in  order.  You  have  heard  the  resolution, 
sugar-coated,  or  you  can  read  it  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Irrigation 
Congress  at  Salt  Lake,  the  crystalization  of  their  action,  which  is  to 
cede  these  lands  to  the  states  absolutely,  save  and  except  mining 
lands.  This  action  of  the  Salt  Lake  Congress  was  preconceived  and 
prearranged  before  that  Congress  met.  The  delegates  from  this 
State,  and  I  believe  they  will  not  deny  the  assertion,  did  not  under- 
stand the  situation.  Gentlemen  who  represented  this  State  at  the 
Salt  Lake  Irrigation  Congress  will  appear  before  you  to-day  and 
speak  on  this  proposition.  These  gentlemen  did  not  understand  that 
a  deep  and  concocted  p'an  had  been  laid.  I  did  not  understand  its 
drift  un^il  told  by  some  friends  of  irrigation  measures.  Having  been 
warned,  I  watched  some  of  the  Senators  that  had  made  this  a  study. 
I  wanted  to  know  why  they  were  so  deeply  interested,  and  saw  after- 
wards that  it  was  for  the  centralization  of  power,  the  increasing  of 
their  political  holdings.  I  refer  more  particularly  to  the  Senators 
from  W\  oming.  At  the  organization  of  the  Senate,  I  thought  I  saw 
this  cropping  out.  I  asked  to  be  put  on  the  Irrigation  Committee. 
They  said  they  would  see.  A  committee  of  seven  was  named  to 
select  members  for  the  different  Senate  Committees.  I  found  I  was 
left  out;  but  prior  to  it,  I  was  asked  how  I  felt  about  segregation.  I 
said  it  was  winter  and  we  might  want  to  ask  the  old  man  for  some- 
thing. I  was  referring  to  appropriations.  This  remark  did  not  suit 
them.  That  Committee  on  Irrigation  and  Reclamation  of  Arid 
Lands  is  formed  with  Senator  Warren  as  chairman.  The  others,  out- 
side of  the  chairman  of  the  Com  mttee  on  Railroads,  are  chiefly 
lawyers.  I  tried  to  convince  that  committee  of  seven  that  I  was 
interested  in  irrigation;  that  I  went  to  Dakota  in  1860,  when  crops 
could  not  be  raised,  and  where  they  now  raise  millions  of  bushels.  I 
thought  I  understood  the  subject.  No,  sir;  tnere  was  no  place  for 
me,  because  I  did  not  absolutely  fall  into  this  trap.  Now  follow  up 
the  work.  Governor  Thomas  of  Utah  issued  his  call.  The  outcome 
of  that  work  you  will  see  later.  Then  came  the  recommendation  of 
Governor  Toole;  then  the  organization  of  this  Convention.  When 
we  wanted  to  get  a  chairman,  Mr.  Clark  was  spoken  of.  We  wanted 
to  make  him  chairman,  but  he  was  committed  to  this  question.  We 
took  chances  on  Governor  Hauser,  and  lo,  and  behold,  he  is  commit- 
ted. Now,  I  say,  keep  your  eyes  open  and  look  out.  You  will  be 
asked  to  remain  here  a  week  if  this,  the  endorsing  of  the  Salt  Lake 
programme,  cannot  be  accomplished.  I  say,  meet  the  issue;  vote 
direct;  say  whether  you  want  the  lands  ceded  to  the  State  or  not.  If 
you  do  desire  segregation,  you,  in  my  opinion,  oppose  all  appropria- 
tions from  the  government. 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  25 

There  are  perhaps  40,000,000  acres  of  arid  lands  in  Montana.  The 
Dakota  Congressmen  say  they  will  stand  by  the  old  man  who  holds 
the  purse.  I  would  like  to  be  so  instructed  by  this  Convention. 
California  is  a  country  owned  absolutely  by  railroads.  Every  busi- 
ness man  who  goes  there  must  admit  it.  That  influence  controlled 
the  Salt  Lake  Convention.  I  ask  Mr.  Clark  and  Mr.  Gregory  if  they 
can  deny  it.  There  is  to-day,  I  dislike  to  say  it,  a  judge  on  the 
Supreme  Bench  who  is  actually  a  lobbyist  in  getting  judges  named. 
This  I  understand  from  my  colleagues  who  are  lawyers,  and  to  whom 
is  referred  the  recommending  of  judges.  I  refer  to  Judge  Field,  who 
is  apparently  going  out  of  his  way  in  these  matters.  I  dislike  to 
mention  those  things,  but  you  should  have  fact^.  Who  are  the  men 
standing  by  the  Salt  Lake  proposition?  Men  living  on  the  plains? 
No,  sir;  the  prime  movers  are  from  small  mining  counties.  I  have 
said  enough,  gentlemen,  but  I  am  ready  to  answer  any  questions,  if 
you  desire  it.  If  these  lands  are  ceded  to  us,  that  will  be  an  end  to 
our  appropriations.  After  having  had  forty  or  fifty  millionstof  acres 
of  land  given  to  us,  we  will  be  asked  to  stand  aside.  How  is  the  situ- 
ation? Wyoming  has  about  two-thirds  of  her  lands  surveyed;  she 
has  had  Union  Pacific  influence.  The  Northern  Pacific  does  not  care 
about  having  the  lands  surveyed.  We  have  hardly  one-fifth  surveyed 
in  Montana.  These  are  facts,  and  we  want  to  consider  them  and  act 
immediately.  I  would  ask  that  some  of  the,  members  who  were  at 
the  Salt  Lake  Convention  be  heard  from. 

Mr.  Carney,  of  Madison:  Senator,  what  are  the 
chances  for  appropriations  by  Congress  for  irrigation? 

Senator  Power:  If  we  all  work  together,  I  believe 
we  will  succeed  in  securing  such  measures.  When  I  say 
that,  I  mean  we,  the  Representatives  in  Congress  of  the 
sixteen  or  seventeen  States  and  Territories,  comprising 
what  is  known  as  the  arid  region. 

Mr.  Strevell,  of  Custer:  I  suppose  the  ordinary 
parliamentary  usage  would  be  for  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution  taken  up  first. 

The  Chairman :  I  think  as  a  committee  of  the  whole 
we  can  take  no  action.  We  can  recommend  to  the  Con- 
vention that  it  adopt  the  section. 

R.  H.  Howey,  of  I-ewis  and  Clarke:  After  discus- 
sion it  will  be  proper  to  move  a  recommendation. 

Mr.  Strevell:  I  now  offer  as  a  substitute  for  Resolu- 
tion No.  i  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  Convention  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  general  government  to  aid  in  the  development  by  irrigation  of 
the  arid  lands  in  the  several  states  and  territories  where  such  lands 


26  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

exist;  and  while  we  do  not  deem  it  desirable  that  the  control  and 
title  to  such  lands  should  pass  from  the  general  government  to  the 
several  states  containing  them,  we  do  nevertheless  urge  that  at  least 
the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of  such  lands  shall  be  applied  to  the 
supply  of  water  for  their  development  for  the  purposes  of  agricult- 
ure, and  we  urge  upon  our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress 
to  use  every  effort  to  accomplish  such  legislation  as  will  bring  about 
this  desirable  result,  not  only  in  our  state,  but  for  all  other  states  and 
territories  similarly  situated. 

Mr.  Strevell  then  addressed  the  Convention  upon  the 
substitute  as  follows: 

Mr,  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 

Upon  this  substitute  which  I  have  offered  it  is  desirable  that  we 
shall  reach  such  a  result  as  will  be  satisfactory  to  all.  If  there  is  any 
scheme  or  any  trap  I  do  not  suppose  we  will  fall  into  it.  As  to  the 
first  proposition  I  do  not  desire,  and  I  shall  be  very  brief,  to  be  under- 
stood at  any  stage  of  this  Convention  as  antagonizing  the  proposition 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  general  government  to  aid  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  arid  lands  in  this  State,  because  it  is  the  duty  of  the  gen- 
eral government  to  aid.  I  am  going  to  assume  that  farming  is  the 
basis  of  this  country.  [Applause.]  We  cannot  live  without  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  farm.  To  invite  a  man  to  farm  without  water  in  this 
Western  country  is  but  little  short  of  inviting  him  to  a  hospitable 
grave.  Hence  it  becomes  necessary  that  some  other  means  should 
be  devised  than  formerly  prevailed  to  aid  in  development.  That  is  the 
reason  for  the  presence  of  these  delegates  here,  because  there  is  a 
condition  of  things  here  that  has  not  been  confronted  before  in  the 
history  of  this  country.  It  is  the  duty  of  this  government  to  aid  in 
the  development  of  these  arid  regions.  That's  a  proposition  I  am 
prepared  to  stand  bv  in  all  the  stages  of  it.  In  the  early  days  of  Illi- 
nois that  vast  domain  lay  there,  which  is  now  an  empire,  with  not  a 
railroad.  Stephen  A.  Douglass  in  1849,  I  think,  introduced  into  Con- 
gress, which  was  passed,  a  bill  which  gave  to  the  company  which 
should  build  from  one  end  of  the  state  to  the  other  every  alternate 
section  of  land.  Immediately,  as  if  by  magic,  the  state  jumped  to  the 
front  and  is  now  third  in  the  Union.  So,  by  government  aid,  was  the 
continent  spanned.  It  is,  and  should  be,  the  prime  consideration  of 
this  Convention  that  the  government  shall  help  and  assist  in  the  de- 
velopment of  these  arid  lands.  Is  it  desirable,  as  the  Salt  Lake  Con- 
vention said,  to  transfer  the  control  and  title  of  these  lands  to  the 
various  states?  I  think  not  [loud  applause],  and  in  a  word  I  will  tell 
you  why.  Some  of  you  gentlemen  are  perfectly  plain,  as  I  am.  You 
may  protest  against  it  when  the  corporations  come  to  take  those 
lands;  your  voices  may  be  raised  against  it,  but  it  will  be  as  the  breath 
to  the  idle  wind.  It  will  be  accomplished,  and  it  is  our  duty  not  to 
put  these  lands  into  that  condition. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  government  to  provide  a  homestead  for  every 
poor  man  who  wants  it,  and  if  he  must  have  water  to  develop  it,  it  is 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  27 

the  duty  of  the  government  to  aid  him  in  that  also.  [Applause.]  The 
ceding  of  the  arid  lands  to  the  State  would  make  necessary  the  estab- 
lishment of  tribunals  to  determine  land  contests  just  as  it  is  now  done 
by  the  general  government.  The  State  cannot  stand  the  expense. 
For  these  reasons  and  many  others  I  do  not  assent  to  the  proposition 
urged  by  the  Salt  Lake  Convention. 

It  is  our  duty  to  harmonize  all  the  elements  of  this  arid  region 
just  as  far  ns  we  can.  I  would  not  for  one  moment  oppose  anything 
done  by  the  Salt  Lake  Convention,  because  it  is  the  duty  of  all  so  far 
as  possible  to  stand  together,  but  I  cannot  acquiesce  in  the  proposi- 
tion that  the  State  should  have  the  control  and  title  of  these  arid 
lands.  For  that  reason  I  have  offered  the  substitute. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  say  that  the  arid  lands,  undesirable  as  they 
now  appear  to  the  eye,  will  some  day  constitute  the  grandest  portion 
of  the  whole  United  States.  No  man  knows  what  these  univiting 
prairies  will  become  when  the  fertility  which  resides  in  their  bosom 
is  called  forth  by  the  application  of  water.  Let  us  keep  these  ques- 
tions close  to  the  people.  Keep  their  water,  the  management  of  it, 
in  their  hands.  Under  the  Salt  Lake  resolution  it  can  never  be  done. 

The  Chairman :  As  the  Senator  from  this  State  has 
requested  to  hear  from  some  of  the  delegates  who  were 
present  at  the  Salt  Lake  Convention,  I  believe  it  would 
be  proper  for  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Reso- 
lutions, who  was  in  that  Convention,  to  address  the 
meeting. 

W.  A.  Clark,  of  Silver  Bow,  the  gentleman  referred 
to,  then  addressed  the  Convention  as  follows: 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  : 

We  appear  here  at  the  call  of  the  Governor  to  take  into  considera- 
tion a  question  that  vitally  concerns  the  prosperity  of  the  State — the 
question  of  irrigation  and  the  reclamation  of  the  arid  lands.  This  is 
in  consequence  of  an  agitation  of  the  subject  recently  inaugurated  in 
Nebraska,  where  a  Convention  was  held  in  February  last,  and  in 
which  a  resolution  was  adopted  providing  for  a  western  inter-state 
congress  to  consider  the  question  of  irrigation  more  widely,  and  Salt 
Lake  City  was  the  place  designated  for  the  meeting.  The  congress 
was  called  by  Governor  Thomas,  of  Utah,  in  September.  All  the 
States  and  Territories,  except  two  or  three,  which  are  embraced  in 
what  is  termed  the  arid  region,  that  great  expanse  of  country  which 
lies  west  of  the  looth  meridian  of  longitude,  were  there  represented. 
The  convention  was  composed  of  about  five  hundred  delegates  and 
remained  in  session  three  days.  Many  resolutions  were  considered, 
and  after  full  and  free  discussion  those  cited  in  the  published  call  of 
our  Governor  were  adopted  almost  without  dissent. 

The  first  one  involves  the  most  important  question,  that  of  the 
cession  by  the  general  government  to  the  several  States  and  Terri- 


28  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

tories  of  all  the  arid  lands  lying  within  their  boundaries;  and  this 
resolution  expresses  the  crystalized  sentiment  of  that  convention. 

It  was  an  assemblage  of  representative  men,  in  the  main  agricul- 
turists, but  drawn  from  every  occupation  and  profession,  and  I  be- 
lieve they  were  thoroughly  identified  with  the  industries  of  their 
respective  States,  and  mindful  of  their  best  interests.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  in  point  of  intelligence  and  honesty  of  purpose  they  would 
average  very  well  with  the  distinguished  gentleman  who  has  just  pre- 
ceded me  and  who  so  indelicately  raised  the  question  of  self-interest 
and  possibly  fraud  as  the  governing  motives  in  that  convention.  It 
is  an  unjust  reflection  on  the  character  of  the  men  who  were  there, 
and,  speaking  for  my  colleagues  who  shared  the  honor  with  me  of 
representing  Montana  on  that  occasion,  I  resent  the  insinuation  that 
they  were  dupes,  led  into  a  trap  by  the  representatives  of  railroad 
companies,  as  suggested  by  the  gentlemen  from  Choteau,  or  partici- 
pants in  a  movement  which  was  prompted  by  incentives  of  fraud. 

It  is  gratifying  to  find  here  in  this  body  representative  men  from 
every  part  of  the  State,  and  that  all  of  the  principal  occupations, 
trades  and  professions  are  represented.  You  have  come  here  volun- 
tarily to  discuss  a  great  question  that  concerns  every  inhabitant  of  the 
State,  and  I  consider  the  insinuation  of  the  gentleman  who  preceded 
me  an  undue  reflection  upon  those  delegates  here  engaged  in  pur- 
suits other  than  agriculture.  It  would  seem  from  that  gentleman's 
remarks  that  we  of  the  mining  counties  have  no  business  here.  He 
appeals  to  the  people  "from  the  plains"  to  "keep  their  eye  on  their 
guns,"  and  warns  them  of  lurking  designs  and  dangers  that  threaten 
them.  Now  I  venture  to  suggest  that  the  people  in  the  mining  dis- 
tricts— and  they  certainly  have  done  their  part  to  build  up  the  State — 
have  its  interests  just  as  dearly  at  heart  as  have  the  farmers,  or  even 
the  eminent  gentleman  himself.  What  concerns  the  welfare  of  one 
locality  concerns  all.  We  all  have  a  right  to  avail  ourselves  of  the 
privileges  of  the  land  laws,  and  all  likewise  of  the  benefits  of  the  min- 
eral laws. 

It  is  a  public  question  that  we  have  met  to  discuss.  Let  it  be  free 
to  all.  I  have  too  much  confidence  in  the  intelligence,  the  integrity 
and  the  magnanimity  of  the  people  of  Montana,  whatever  may  be 
their  avocation,  to  believe  that,  in  considering  questions  of  this  char- 
acter, they  could  be  largely  influenced  by  narrow  or  sordid  consider- 
ations. 

The  question  before  us  is  one  of  the  most  important  that  could 
possibly  engage  our  attention.  The  mining  development  in  this  State 
has  attained  gigantic  proportions.  By  the  concentration  of  the  highest 
skill  and  large  capital,  we  have  reached  a  position  unparalleled  in  all 
the  world.  We  should  not  permit  our  other  great  resources  to  lie 
dormant  or  to  languish. 

The  importance  of  irrigation  becomes  apparent  when  we  realize 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  2<> 

the  fact  that  more  than  one-half  of  the  agriculture  of  the  world  is 
dependent  upon  it;  that  two-fifths  of  the  arable  land  of  the  United 
States  will  not  surely  produce  crops  without  its  aid,  and  that  in  our 
own  State,  which  is  estimated  to  contain  over  twenty  million  acres 
susceptible  to  cultivation,  irrigation  is  absolutely  essential  to  success- 
ful agriculture. 

The  artificial  watering  of  the  earth  had  its  origin  soon  after  the 
struggle  of  mankind  for  subsistence  first  began.  Ruins  of  ditches 
and  aqueducts,  as  well  as  reservoirs,  are  found  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  all 
other  parts  of  the  world.  Some  of  them  were  projected  upon  a  mag- 
nificent scale.  Egypt  has  been  called  the  classic  ground  of  irrigation. 
The  Spanish  Conquerors  discovered  upon  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
Andes,  aqueducts  as  much  as  five  hundred  miles  in  length  and  reser- 
voirs of  such  stupendous  character,  as  indicated  a  civilization  far  in 
advance  of  that  possessed  by  the  Incas,  and  all  of  such  permanent 
construction  as  to  survive  the  disintegrating  forces  of  unnumbered 
ages. 

The  Aztecs  employed  irrigation  to  increase  the  productiveness  of 
their  fields  centuries  before  the  fleets  of  their  conquerors  appeared 
on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  Arizona  the  aborigines  built  ditches  irt> 
the  valley  of  the  Gila  more  than  five  hundred  years  ago,  and  in  several 
localities  of  that  Territory  have  been  found  extensive  ruins  of  irriga- 
tion works  that  were  built  by  prehistoric  races. 

The  gradual  decay  of  irrigation  works  on  the  peninsula  of  India 
was  followed  by  impoverishment  of  the  natives  and  in  some  instances 
by  famine.  The  British  government  about  thirty  years  since  took  the 
matter  up,  and  has  since  expended  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
million  of  dollars  in  irrigation  improvements,  and  as  much  more  in 
building  canals,  highways  and  railroads  necessary  to  transport  the 
cereals  that  irrigation  enabled  them  to  produce,  and  the  result  was 
that  India,  next  to  the  United  States,  became  the  largest  producer  of 
wheat,  and  has  become  a  serious  competitor  of  this  country  for  the 
European  markets. 

Previous  to  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  the  methods  of  applica- 
tion of  water  were  rather  of  a  crude  and  unscientific  nature,  until  the 
needs  of  the  Far  West  invoked  the  aid  of  engineering  skill  and  reduced 
it  to  a  science,  and  obtained  the  maximum  results.  But  much  more 
may  be  accomplished  by  impounding  waters  during  the  flood  season, 
by  which  a  steady  supply  will  be  insured  and  larger  areas  watered  in 
the  dry  period  of  the  year.  To  Montana  this  means  a  great  deal. 
Here  exist,  I  believe,  the  greatest  possibilities  to  be  found  anywhere. 
This  State  is  traversed  by  a  magnificent  system  of  mountain  ranges, 
pregnant  with  mineral  wealth,  and  clothed  with  measureless  forests, 
which  are  great  accumulators  and  conservators  of  snow  and  moisture 
and  upon  whose  bosoms  Nature  has  scooped  out  hydrographic  basins, 
which  require  simply  a  wall  at  their  outlet  to  convert  them  into  reser- 
voirs ample  for  all  requirements  of  storage. 


3O  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

The  innumerable  streams  having  here  their  sources  which  furnish 
the  waters  of  two  of  the  greatest  rivers  of  the  continent  are  admirably 
located  for  the  best  possible  diversion  and  distribution  to  the  arable 
lands. 

These  are  known  to  be  of  the  greatest  fertility  and  wrill  produce 
from  forty  to  fifty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  and  the  other  grains 
in  proportionate  abundance.  Consider,  moreover,  their  contiguity  to 
the  richest  mining  districts  that  the  world  has  ever  known,  which 
will  insure  a  constant  and  advantagous  market,  and  it  becomes  appar- 
ent that  our  State  is  endowed  with  the  elements  of  wealth  in  the 
highest  degree.  At  present  we  depend  largely  on  other  States  for 
produce  that  should  be  raised  at  home.  Flour,  bacon,  fruits,  vegeta- 
bles, butter,  eggs  and  poultry,  in  car-load  lots,  are  unloaded  daily  at 
our  principal  railway  stations,  and  millions  of  dollars  are  sent  out 
annually  for  these  articles  that  should  go  into  the  pockets  of  our  own 
farmers.  The  benefits  resulting  would  exceed  the  calculations  of  the 
most  sanguine,  and  the  condition  of  the  farmer  here,  with  a  market 
at  his  own  door  for  his  annual  product  made  certain  by  irrigation, 
would  present  a  striking  contrast  to  that  of  the  western  farmer  who 
is  obliged  to  contend  with  drouths,  distant  and  fluctuating  markets, 
long  hauls,  extortionate  charges  and  the  competition  of  cheap  Asiatic 
labor.  Now  what  is  the  status  of  irrigation  here  to-day  ?  Almost  at 
a  standstill.  The  lowlands  lying  along  and  near  the  streams  were 
appropriated  by  the  early  settlers  and  watered  by  small  ditches  of 
easy  and  comparatively  inexpensive  construction.  Moreover  this 
character  of  land  is  of  limited  area  compared  with  the  broad  table 
lands  lying  higher  up,  and  the  still  higher  and  far  more  extensive 
mesas,  which  are  even  more  fertile,  but  all  require  expensive  canals 
for  their  proper  watering. 

Individual  effort  has  almost  reached  its  limit  and  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  invoke  the  assistance  of  capital  or  depend  on  government  or 
State  appropriations.  Hence  we  are  confronted  with  the  important 
problem  as  to  how  we  can  best  effect  the  reclamation  of  these  lands 
and  provide  homes  for  the  people. 

There  are  some,  Mr.  President,  who  are  content  to  lean  on  the 
arm  of  the  government  and  expect  it  to  come  to  the  rescue  with  lib- 
eral and  adequate  appropriations.  Others  despair  of  accomplishing 
anything  of  consequence  from  that  quarter  and  believe  it  is  better  to 
ask  that  the  lands  be  ceded  to  the  States.  This  was  the  conclusion 
arrived  at  at  Salt  Lake,  and  the  people  of  Montana  are  asked  to  co- 
operate with  this  plan.  Mr.  President,  I  am  in  accord  with  this 
theory,  but  I  desire  to  hear  a  full  discussion  of  the  questiou  in  this 
Convention,  and  if  thereafter  I  am  convinced  that  my  position  is  not 
wise  or  tenable  I  say  to  you  frankly  that  I  will  abandon  it.  But  I 
want  to  hear  something  reasonable  and  definite  presented,  and  not 
mere  vague  assertion  and  inuendo  as  we  have  heard  this  morning. 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  3 1 

I  am  convinced  that  the  time  is  now  opportune  when  the  govern- 
ment may  advantageously  dispense  with  its  land  system. 

About  all  of  the  available  public  land  is  now  occupied.  I  am  in- 
formed that  the  number  of  acres  now  unsold  amounts  to  less  than  a 
million.  The  arid  region  is  practically  valueless  without  water,  and 
this  I  do  not  believe  the  government  can  or  will  provide  in  a  prompt 
or  economical  manner.  The  conditions  existing  in  the  several  states 
are  entirely  different,  and  no  uniform  system  that  the  government 
would  necessarily  have  to  adopt  would  be  applicable  everywhere  or 
secure  the  most  advantageous  application  of  water.  A  law  suitable 
to  New  Mexico  would  be  impractical  for  the  needs  of  Montana. 
Utah  requires  entirely  different  regulations  from  Dakota.  Each  ~>tate 
can  best  legislate  for  itself,  particularly  as  each  state  has  a  different 
statute  governing  water  rights. 

Again,  we  of  the  West  all  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  procure  ap- 
propriations of  any  considerable  proportions.  The  states  lying  east  of 
the  arid  belt  would  all  oppose  it,  apprehending  competition  in  the 
cereal  markets,  and  being  somewhat  jealous  of  the  Far  West.  This 
subject  has  already  received  some  attention  in  Congress,  but  so  far 
without  practical  results. 

One  hundred  thousand  dollars  were  appropriated  in  1888,  and  the 
year  following  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  more,  for  the 
purpose  of  surveying  the  irrigable  lands.  This  was  a  commendable 
movement,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  much  valuable  data  and  in- 
formation have  been  secured  through  government  inquiry.  But  let 
us  now  inquire  what  became  of  that  money.  The  whole  matter  wa& 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Major  Powell,  director  of  the  geological  sur- 
vey, who  diverted  and  used  up  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dol- 
lars in  making  topographic  surveys  and  maps  thereof,  claiming  that 
this  work  was  a  necessary  preliminarv  to  any  engineering  work.  The 
Senate  Irrigation  Commission,  very  justly,  severely  criticised  this 
action  as  an  unlawful  diversion  of  money  that  they  considered  inde- 
fensible. 

Mr.  Power:  Mr.  Clark,  I  would  like  to  correct  you 
on  the  statements  made  by  you  concerning  appropria- 
tions. 

Mr.  Clark :     Very  well. 

Mr.  Power:  In  the  first  session  of  the  Fifty-first  Con- 
gress there  was  appropriated  for  the  Agricultural  Bu- 
reau the  sum  of  $889,000,  and  during  the  last  session  an 
additional  sum  of  $812,000.  Major  Powell  is  not  under 
the  direction  of  the  Agricultural  Bureau.  A  great  deal 
of  the  money  has  gone  to  furnish  positions  for  Powell's 
friends  from  the  South,  East  and  North,  and  to  his  cou- 
sins and  his  aunts. 


32  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

Mr.  Clark:  I  do  not  accept  the  statements  of  the  gentlemen  as 
any  correction  of  what  I  said.  They  refer  to  an  entirely  different 
subject.  I  said  nothing  about  the  Agricultural  Bureau  or  appropria- 
tions therefor,  but  the  remarks  of  the  gentleman  from  Choteau  are 
corroborative  of  the  theory  I  advance  touching  the  futility  of  seeking 
appropriations  in  aid  of  any  Western  enterprise,  with  the  expectation 
of  having  the  funds  properly  applied. 

Mr.  President,  we  are  not  without  precedent  on  the  subject  at 
issue.  The  swamp  lands  were  donated  to  the  states  in  1849,  and  so 
far  as  I  can  learn  it  was  considered  a  wise  movement,  which  worked 
out  admirably.  Every  consideration  urged  in  behalf  of  that  measure 
would  apply  with  equal  or  greater  force  to  the  cession  of  the  arid 
lands.  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  theory,  if  carried  out,  would 
encourage  jobbery  and  corruption  in  our  Legislatures,  and  that  in  the 
control  and  disposition  of  the  lands,  monopolies  of  land  and  water 
franchises  would  be  created. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  water  is  the  key  to  the  land;  that  the 
latter  without  the  former  is  almost  valueless,  and  there  is  the  danger, 
under  existing  circumstances,  to  which  we  are  now  exposed. 

The  best  water  privileges  in  »he  State  are  now  being  absorbed  by 
individuals  and  corporations  which,  while  they  may  not  improve  these 
lands,  will  have  a  monopoly  of  the  most  desirable  of  them,  and  this 
will  seriously  handicap  and  complicate  future  operations  more  and 
more  as  the  matter  is  delayed. 

As  to  the  other  objection,  do  we  not  trust  our  Legislatures  to  reg- 
ulate our  most  vital  interests  and  make  laws  controlling  every  species 
of  property?  If  we  cannot  trust  them  to  control  and  dispose  of  the 
arid  lands  if  donated  to  the  State,  in  God's  name  what  is  to  become  of 
the  great  grant  of  school  lands  that  were  given  to  us  with  statehood? 
I  am  not  one  of  those  who  believe  in  the  total  depravity  of  human 
nature.  I  think  our  interests  much  safer  in  the  keeping  of  our  Legis- 
lative Assembly  than  in  that  of  Congress. 

Now,  I  say,  let  the  states  own  the  lands,  and  they  will  take  care  of 
them  and  dispose  of  them  judiciously,  without  fostering  monopolies 
or  allowing  the  practice  of  extortion.  We  are  asked  how  this  can  be 
accomplished.  I  say,  leave  that  problem  to  the  future.  It  will  be  of 
•easy  solution.  Canals  and  reservoirs  may  be  constructed  by  the 
State,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  land  applied  to  reimburse- 
ment, or  a  law  enacted  creating  irrigation  districts,  whereby  the 
people  themselves  can  carry  out  the  system  of  reclamation.  Such  a 
law  was  put  into  operation  in  1877  in  the  Orange  Free  State  of  South 
Africa,  creating  a  board  in  each  district  having  corporate  authority 
and  the  power  to  issue  bonds  by  creating  a  first  lien  on  all  of  the 
property  of  the  district.  This  is  said  to  work  very  satisfactorily.  A 
similar  law,  called  the  Wright  bill,  was  enacted  in  California  in  1887, 
•which  works  admirably.  The  State  Supreme  Court  has  repeatedly 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  33 

affirmed  the  validity  of  its  provisions.  The  bonds,  secured  by  mort- 
gage, run  twenty  to  thirty  years,  and  afford  a  safe,  permanent  and 
desirable  security,  that  is  eagerly  sought  by  investors  in  the  Eastern 
states  and  of  Europe.  There  is  another  question  which  is  intimately 
associated  with  irrigation,  and  that  is  the  preservation  of  our  forests. 
They  perform  an  important  service  in  sheltering  the  snows  and  hold- 
ing them  until  late  in  summer,  to  feed  gradually  the  sources  of  the 
rivers,  and  I  hold  that  these  lands  also  should  be  ceded  to  the  states. 
I  feel  assured  that  the  people  of  Montana  would  exercise  more 
care  in  the  protection  of  the  timber  in  our  forests,  while  at  the  same 
time  providing  the  inhabitants  with  what  they  require  in  their  var- 
ious pursuits,  and  much  more  satisfactorily  than  the  government  can 
or  will  possibly  do.  Forest  fires  generally  destoy  more  timber  in  one 
year  than  would  be  consumed  in  fifty  years.  As  it  is  now,  the  De- 
partment of  the  Interior,  in  framing  regulations  governing  the  cut- 
ting of  timber  on  the  public  domain,  is  influenced  largely  by  the 
American  Forestry  Association.  What  do  these  people  know  about 
the  forests  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  or  the  needs  of  the  people  there? 
Scarcely  anything.  Perhaps  few  of  them  have  ever  been  as;  far  in 
this  direction  as  Chicago.  They  call  that  the  "Far  West." 

Senator  Power:  Would  you  also  include  the  mineral 
lands  in  the  proposed  cession  ? 

Mr.  Clark:  That  is  a  proposition  not  contemplated  in  the  resolu- 
tion, and  I  have  not  fully  considered  it;  but  I  would  suggest  that  in 
view  of  the  history  of  national  legislation  whereby  large  grants  of  our 
best  lands  have  been  made  to  railroad  corporations  by  statutes  so 
loosely  drawn  that  we  find  those  corporations  now  laying  claim  to 
millions  of  acres  of  our  mineral  lands,  with  a  good  prospect  of  suc- 
cess according  to  recent  decisions,  it  would  probably  be  a  wise  pro- 
vision to  include  these  lands  also  with  the  others.  No  Montana  Leg- 
islature would  ever  frame  such  a  law  as  that.  I  think  we  could  de- 
pend upon  it  that  the  people  and  not  Ihe  corporations  under  state 
legislation  would  possess  and  enjoy  the  mineral  lands. 

Senator  Power:  You  stated  that  in  India  there  had 
been  expended  more  than  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars 
in  irrigation  works.  I  would  like  to  know  how  that 
money  was  raised. 

Mr.  Clark:  The  necessary  funds  were  appropriated  by  the  British 
government.  The  conditions  here  and  there  are  entirely  different^ 
The  people  of  India  are  very  poor,  having  few  resources  aside  from 
their  fertile  soil.  Self  interest  dictated  to  the  government  the  [expedi- 
ency of  these  appropriations,  and  it  was  done  with  a  lavish  hand,  and 
the  results  confirmed  the  wisdom  of  the  enterprise.  We  are  able  to 
take  care  of  ourselves,  and  besides  we  might  wait  a  hundred  years 
and  then  not  obtain  any  government  aid  commensurate  with  the 
magnitude  of  the  scheme  in  contemplation. 


34  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  have  concluded  all  that  I  desire  to  say  at 
present  upon  this  subject.  I  thank  you,  gentlemen,  for  the  patient 
attention  you  have  accorded  me.  Whatever  may  be  the  result  of  the 
discussion  of  this  question  in  this  Convention,  I  trust  that  the  agita- 
tion of  the  subject  will  continue  until  some  practical  system  is  inau- 
gurated that  will  mark  the  beginning  for  our  young  State  of  a  new 
era  of  prosperity. 

Mr.  Clark's  remarks  were  frequently  greeted  with 
applause. 

H.  P.  Rolfe,  of  Cascade:  I  move  that  the  speeches 
after  this  be  limited  to  five  minutes. 

Mr.  Word,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  I  move  to  amend 
by  making  it  fifteen  minutes.  I  want  to  say  something 
myself. 

Mr.  Burton,  of  Choteau:  I  move  that  the  motion  as 
amended  be  laid  on  the  table. 

The  Chairman :  The  motion  is  upon  the  proposition 
to  lay  the  motion  and  amendment  on  the  table. 

Mr.  Howey,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke :  I  move  that  the 
committee  arise  and  ask.leave  to  sit  again. 

The  committee  arose  and  on  motion  a  recess  was 
taken  until  2  p.  m. 


FRIDAY  AFTERNOON. 

At  2  p.  m.  the  Convention  was  called  to  order  by  Vice 
President  Irvin.  On  motion  the  Convention  resolved 
itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  with  Mr.  Chisholm 
in  the  chair. 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Gregory,  of  Gallatin  County,  spoke  as 
follows : 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

I  had  the  honor  to  second  the  resolution  offered  by  Judge  Strevell> 
and  I  rise  to  speak  in  support  of  that  resolution  and  to  express  my 
disapproval  of  the  first  section  of  the  platform  of  the  Salt  Lake 
Congress. 

I  speak,  not  because  I  love  the  melody  of  my  own  voice,  but  be- 
cause moved  by  a  sincere  conviction,  and  appreciating  the  great 
importance  of  the  question  at  issue.  I  feel  I  have  a  message  to  con- 
vey to  this  Convention  out  of  the  depths  of  my  heart,  and  out  of  a 
judgment  made  up  upon  reflection. 

No  speaker  can  magnify  beyond  its  just  merits  the  importance  of 
the  question  involved  in  the  needs  and  demands  of  the  arid  region; 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  35 

it  is  the  most  important  question  before  the  American  Congress 
to-day;  it  involves  money  value  surpassing  all  other  money  values 
that  Congress  deals  with  put  together;  it  involves  the  exercises  of  all 
the  brain  power  in  statesmanship  that  the  Nation  can  command,  to 
work  out  the  details  of  the  questions  which  now  press  and  which  will 
arise  in  the  future  in  legislation  and  in  the  application  of  scientific 
methods  to  conserve  waters,  to  prevent  floods,  to  preserve  forests,  to 
build  reservoirs,  to  mark  out  irrigation  districts,  to  compose  interstate 
complications  and  international  difficulties. 

Reference  has  been  made  on  this  floor  to  the  origin  of  this  demand 
to  cede  the  public  domain  to  the  states  wherein  situate,  and  to  the 
conduct  of  the  Utah  Congress.  It  is  thought  the  Utah  Congress  has 
given  out  a 'manufactured  opinion,  and  that  the  Congress  was  under 
such  control  as  to  make  it  a  foregone  conclusion  that  it  would  pass  a 
resolution  asking  the  United  States  Congress  to  cede  the  public  lands 
to  the  States. 

In  reading  the  report  of  the  proceedings  of  that  Congress,  we  are 
struck  with  names  and  situation  of  the  persons  who  appear  to  have 
been  the  leaders  in  the  debate.  We  naturally  ask,  who  owns  these 
men,  or  what  do  these  men  own?  One  of  the  gentlemen  was  intro- 
duced as  the  General  Land  Agent  of  the  Central  and  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Companies,  and  was  also  known  as  land  commissioner  of  the 
Oregon  &  California,  and  of  the  Houston  £  Texas  Railroad  Compa- 
nies. These  are  surely  positions  of  honor  and  trust.  Another  of  the 
gentlemen  was  known  as  a  very  extensive  owner  of  lands  in  the  arid 
region  and  to  be  engaged  in  irrigation  development  :n  Nevada  to  an 
extent  that  astonishes  men  of  the  ordinary  business  abilities.  Such  is 
perceived  to  be  the  situation  of  two  men  who  with  great  address  and 
with  mental  ability  equal  to  their  boldness  and  address,  dominated  in 
1nfluence  in  that  convention.  Another  was  so  circumstanced  as  to 
lead  to  the  supposition  that  personal  ambitions  and  property  interests 
and  hope  of  opportunities  might  govern  to  a  large  extent  the  posi- 
tion he  took  on  this  question  of  State  control  of  public  lands. 

One  of  these  gentlemen,  indeed,  said  in  that  congress,  "there  is  no 
room  for  modesty  in  this  bustling  and  active  world  of  ours;"  and 
whether  that  be  a  fact  or  not,  he  clearly  showed  that  he  did  not 
occupy  "that  room." 

I  recall  that  some  of  the  Utah  orators  boasted  they  would  carry 
their  plan  by  the  force  of  the  impact.  I  quote  their  words.  But  the 
gravity  of  the  good  sense  of  the  people  is  now  aroused  and  set  in  mo- 
tion against  the  Utah  plan.  We  shall  not  find  it  overcome  by  the 
"im-iact"  of  the  Utah  demand,  and  the  future  "impact"  of  the  blows 
will  be  less  and  less  felt.  The  people  have  been  thinking  meanwhile. 
The  speculators  and  the  cattlemen  who  want  to  get  hold  of  great 
ranges  as  a  private  property,  through  the  channel  of  State  ownership, 
now  perceive  that  the  farmers  must  be  consulted  in  this  movement. 
You,  farmers,  are  here  to-day;  what  do  you  say? 


36  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

The  Utah  platform  has  been  endorsed  by  some  other  conventions. 
The  proceedings  of  these  several  irrigation  conventions  which  have 
preceded  this  one,  and  in  which  the  movers  have  succeeded  in  getting 
a  vote  for  the  Utah  first  plank,  remind  me  of  the  experiments  in  nat- 
ural philosophy  and  in  magic,  where  a  small  mass  of  matter  over- 
comes and  regulates  a  much  larger,  if  there  but  be  an  anticipation  of 
motion  by  the  velocity  of  one  before  the  other  is  prepared  to  act  or 
to  resist.  As  the  explosive  power  of  a  little  gunpowder  will  over- 
come gravity  because  the  latter  is  slower  in  resisting  the  motion  of 
the  mass. 

I  do  not  wish  to  denl  in  personalities,  and  if  I  may  be  permitted  to 
criticise  somewhat  in  the  tone  of  censure  any  of  the  remarks  of 
those  who  have  preceded  me,  I  should  say  that  the  argument  drawn 
from  the  situation  and  relations  of  the  persons  or  the  motives  found 
on  the  other  side  of  this  question,  is  not  the  best  argument  to  use.  So 
that  the  honorable  Senator  who  has  spoken  on  this  subject,  while  he 
may  be  right  in  his  conclusions,  has  not  sufficiently  stated  the 
grounds  of  his  conclusions.  However,  it  is  always  pertinent  to  learn 
all  that  can  be  learned  of  the  motives  and  environments  of  the  men 
who  originated  the  segregation  plan. 

A  novel  plan  is  proposed.  Who  proposes  it,  and  who  are  for  it? 
The  answer  to  these  questions  will  create  in  men's  minds,  naturally 
•enough,  a  predisposition  to  reject  or  favor  the  plan,  according  as  we 
may  perceive  that  the  plan  runs  along  in  harmony  with  the  selfish 
•side  of  their  business,  attended  with  grave  danger  to  public  interests, 
or  that  the  plan  is  evidently  good  for  the  public.  The  force  of  the 
argument  is  not  toward  the  decision  of  the  question  on  its  merits,  but 
it  is  used  as  a  caution  that  we  be  not  led  to  adopt  the  conclusion 
merely  because  able  and  ingenius  men  have  recommended  it  to  us. 
The  moral  force  of  the  majority  vote  at  the  Utah  Congress  is  broken 
in  view  of  certain  facts  of  the  nature  I  have  just  mentioned,  and 
further  in  view  of  the  fact  that  there  were  able  men  in  that  Congress 
who  did  not  vote  for  the  ceding  of  the  lands  to  the  states,  and  who 
pointed  out  strong  objections  and  dangers  arising  out  of  such  a  plan 
of  dealing  with  the  public  domain.  Another  consideration  that  will 
weaken  the  moral  effect  of  a  majority  vote  in  that  Congress  is  that  it 
was  called  to  petition  Congress  to  cede  the  lands  to  the  states.  Men 
were  designated  to  go  to  that  Congress,  naturally  enough,  who  favored 
the  object  of  the  call.  Its  opponents  would  not  be  solicited.  Hence, 
so  far  as  this  Convention  here  assembled  to  day  is  concerned,  this 
question  need  not  be  seriously  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the  State  con- 
trol of  the  lands  by  the  action  of  the  Utah  Congress.  And  to  descend 
to  lesser  matters,  nor  need  it  be  prejudiced  by  the  fact  of  arrangement 
to  have  as  the  President  of  this  Convention  one  who  is  in  favor  of  the 
Utah  plan,  and  to  have  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole 
in  favor  of  such  plan,  and  to  have  the  orator  who  was  to  speak  first  in 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  37 

this  Convention  one  who  went  to  school  to  the  Utah  Congress,  and  to 
have  to  him  accorded  the  floor  for  a  good  hour.  Since  these  things 
are  &o,  and,  as  may  be  claimed,  are  so  in  their  favor  by  accident,  I  did 
regret  that  any  one  could  be  found  who,  upon  the  close  of  that  speech 
of  the  gentleman  thus  put  forward,  should  arise  from  their  side  of  the 
question  and  move  to  limit  the  rest  of  the  debate  to  five-minute 
speeches.  We  have  come  hither  on  business  of  State  from  distant 
places  at  expense  of  time  and  money,  and  we  are  here  as  a  deliberative 
assembly,  concerned  to  consider  with  circumspection  and  reflection 
the  most  important  measure  before  the  American  people;  and  yet 
some  delegate  thinks  he  aids  the  cause  of  truth  and  right  by  shutting 
the  mouths  of  those  who  do  not  agree  with  his  views.  Such  a  course 
I  deem  an  insult  to  the  intelligence  and  fairmindedness  of  this  Con- 
vention. 

Emboldened  by  your  evident  interest  in  the  question  and  your 
eager  looks  of  inquiry  for  some  statement  of  grounds  of  rejection  of 
this  Utah  plan,  I  shall  not  trouble  myself  to  look  at  the  hour  glass 
while  speaking,  and,  though  I  shall  be  brief,  I  will  be  limited  only  by 
the  necessity  of  the  statement  and  your  continued  approval.  I  speak 
under  a  duty. 

If  it  should  be  known  that  I  am  the  farmer's  friend,  that  I  am  the 
advocate  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  the  working  classes,  and 
the  friend  of  every  humMe  citizen  throughout  the  United  States  who 
has  rights  in  the  public  domain,  and  that  I  stand  against  monopoly,  I 
should  think  this  the  proudest  distinction  that  could  be  bestowed 
upon  me. 

Here  is  a  question  of  changing  by  the  wholesale,  and  at  once,  in 
one  broad  legislative  action,  the  tenure  and  ownership  and  mode  of 
disposition  of  a  vast  .domain,  equal  in  extent  to  something  like  two- 
fifths  of  the  United  States,  outside  of  Alaska,  lessened  by  the  amount 
of  lands  already  reduced  to  private  ownership.  It  is  a  question  also 
of  changing  the  national  policy  which  has  existed  for  a  century,  and 
in  later  days  has  been  improved  upon  by  its  mineral,  timber,  home- 
stead and  desert  entry  laws,  which  has  grown  into  a  vast  administra- 
tive system,  and  which  has  hitherto  worked  to  well  as  to  challenge 
the  praise  and  admiration  of  wise  and  patriotic  statesmen.  New  physi- 
cal conditions  presented  in  the  arid  region  require  some  modification 
of  this  system.  Under  the  existing  system  of  public  domain  policy 
there  have  been  usefully  distributed  seven  hundred  millions  of  acres 
of  lands;  there  have  been  usefully  expended  under  that  policy  more 
than  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  millions  of  dollars.  There  has 
thus  grown  in  practice  a  great  departmental  administration  under  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  which,  resting  at  the  capital  of  a  great  na- 
tion, surveys,  investigates  and  executes  over  a  field  that  covers  many 
states  and  territorial  regions,  many  differences  of  climate,  a  variety  of 
land,  mineral,  agricultural,  pastoral  and  timber,  and  the  so-called 
waste  lands,  and  which  in  a  measure  affects  and  controls  climatic  con- 
ditions in  and  over  vast  regions  of  land  surface. 


38  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

Your  deliberations,  then,  will  be  clothed  with  dignity  and  import- 
ance, by  reason  of  the  importance  of  the  issues  which  your  resolu- 
tions shall  tend  to  affect  and  mould.  A  weight  of  responsibility 
should  press  on  your  minds  equal  to  the  gravity  of  the  questions  in- 
volved. The  gravity  of  such  questions  will  be  more  clearly  appre- 
hended if  we  stop  to  consider  in  whose  interests  you  are  about  to  act. 
Is  it  a  matter  that  pertains  to  one  state  alone?  Aye,  even  to  one  na- 
tion alone?  Is  it  for  a  present  and  temporary  interest  you  are  to  de- 
liberate? Is  it  alone  the  welfare  of  the  existing  generation  that  shall 
concern  you?  Are  not  all  the  arid  states  and  territories  interested? 
are  not  all  the  states  of  the  Union  interested?  Is  not  the  coming 
generation  to  be  affected  by  the  tendency  of  your  recommendations? 
Are  not  future  generations  upon  their  coming  to  feel  the  impress  of 
this  day's  work  at  your  hands?  I  would  not  miss,  then,  the  oppor- 
tunity to  strengthen  and  deepen  this  feeling  of  responsibility  t->  local 
and  to  general  interests  and  10  the  immediate  and  to  future  time?  Let 
us  dwell  on  it  for  a  while  at  least,  and  then,  when  our  mood  is  fitted 
to  form  a  conclusion,  let  us  conclude  and  resolve  in  the  face  of  all 
these  stupendous  interests  with  what  of  unselfishness  and  with  what 
of  wisdom  we  may. 

The  act  of  Bitting  in  this  Convention  and  voting  for  a  string  of  res- 
olutions might  seem  slight  and  inconsequential,  unless  we  halt  for.  a 
moment.  Our  heads  are  full  of  our  own  individual  affairs.  Men 
walk  in  accustomed  paths  often  without  heeding  the  ground  they  are 
passing  over  till  they  come  face  to  face  with  some  new  object  to  ar- 
rest their  attention.  Here,  before  us,  are  objects  and  subjects  that 
should  startle  us  to  a  halt,  and  hold  us  to  rest  for  calm  thought. 

Let  us  lead  our  minds  in  our  deliberations  in  this  Convention  step 
by  step  to  the  things  we  are  contemplating  in  this  wrench  to  our  land 
system.  First,  to  what  end  was  the  system  framed?  And  is  that  a 
good  end  or  final  purpose,  and  will  a  change  lead  to  better  results? 
Having  considered  the  end  or  final  purpose  of  our  present  system, 
let  us  ask  if  the  means  of  attaining  such  end  are  better  furnished  by 
the  several  states  and  territories  separately  than  by  the  united  action 
of  the  nation.  Great  expenditure  of  money  is  involved  in  this  action, 
and  in  the  details  to  a  useful  result.  Will  feeble  and  poor  states  and 
territories  be  able  to  spend  millions  on  millions  of  dollars  in  separately 
caring  for  these  great  interests? 

Bear  in  mind  that  if  you  take  by  grant  from  the  nation  all  this  great 
domain  of  arid  lands  you  take  upon  yourselves  the  mighty  and  op- 
pressive burden  of  reclamation  at  your  own  expense,  unaided  by  na- 
tional appropriation. 

One  great  harm  to  grow  out  of  ceding  the  lands  to  the  states  is 
that  the  lands  will  be  sold  out  in  job  lots  and  get  into  the  hands  of 
schemers  and  monopolists.  They  will  not  be  sacredly  kept  for  the 
occupancy  and  ownership  of  the  people  and  the  poor  man.  The  de- 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  39 

claimers  for  the  ceding  plan  tell  us,  with  an  air  of  surprise  and  with 
pity  for  our  fears,  that  this  is  not  possible;  that  we  must  not  distrust 
the  ability  of  a  free  people  in  a  free  country  and  under  Democratic 
rule  to  protect  themselves;  that  we  thus  slander  the  people  and  insult 
the  legislatures;  that  \ve  asperse  the  integrity  and  honesty  of  the  peo- 
ple. This  reply  sounds  well  and  it  is  exaected  to  put  us  to  the  blush. 
We  know  that  experience  teaches  us  we  are  right  to  take  counsel  of 
our  fears.  Some  of  the  states  have  given  us  examples  of  warning.  I 
cannot  stay  on  this  for  instances  of  proof.  Public  men  know  them 
well  enough.  But  the  people  know  these  things.  There  is  a  popular 
distrust  of  state  legislatures  which  may  be  said  to  characterize  a  large 
portion  of  the  American  people  at  the  present  time. 

The  details  of  the  Constitutions  of  the  four  most  recently  formed 
States,  lying  all  of  them  in  the  arid  region,  illustrate  this  fixed 
tendency  in  American  politics— they  frame  their  constitutions  to 
declare  what  the  respective  State  legislatures  cannot  be  permitted 
to  do. 

The  principal  prohibitions  on  the  legislatures  are:  On  enacting 
any  private  or  special  legislation;  on  extinguishing  or  releasing  the 
obligations  of  corporations  or  of  individuals  to  the  State;  on  legisla- 
tive bribery;  on  personal  or  private  interest  in  a  bill  in  any  member; 
on  irregular  form  in  framing  bills;  on  appropriations  of  moneys;  on 
performing  legislative  functions  by  deputy;  on  loaning  the  credit  of 
the  State  to  corporations;  on  authorizing  lotteries;  and  on  entertain- 
ing money  bills  during  the  last  hours  of  the  legislature. 

These  new  constitutions  suggest  that  the  people  have  lost  confi- 
dence in  their  State  legislatures,  and  thus  the  people  have  sought  to 
anticipate  great  evils  by  limiting  powers  of  the  legislature;  by  telling 
them  what  they  may  do  and  what  they  may  not  do. 

This  is  the  undeniable  answer  to  the  declamation  of  orators  who 
boast  the  integrity  of  legislatures.  It  is  known  that  many  honest  legis- 
lators are  brought  and  weedled  to  do  the  things  by  intriguing  mem- 
bers and  lobbyists,  which  in  the  innocence  of  the  well  intentioned 
members  they  never  knew  the  iniquity  of  till  the  wrong  is  consum- 
mated. 

These  considerations  convince  one  that  "the  people"  will  be  set 
against  the  ceding  of  lands  to  the  full  control  of  the  States.  We  do 
not  distrust  the  ability  of  "the  people"  to  take  care  of  their  own  inter- 
ests. When  they  are  assembled  in  conventions  they  do  that  very 
well.  The  result  of  this  Convention  will  show  their  sagacity.  It  is 
only  that  the  people  distrust  the  influences  that  may  be  brought  to 
bear  on  their  agents. 

I  tell  the  politicians  who  hold  the  strings  of  this  kite  which  they 
are  now  flying  before  the  face  of  the  people,  that  they  will  ere  long 
bring  down  the  lightning  on  themselves.  This  Utah  plan  is  not  to  be 
a  popular  plan.  The  people  will  continue  to  regard  the  national 


40  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

domain~as  their  heritage — to  be  kept  i-acredly  for  the  benefit  of  the 
poor  man,  the  homeseeker  and  the  settler,  throughout  the  United 
States. 

It  is  a  bad  thing  for  a  Sta'e  to  own  large  properties  of  this  nature. 
Such  political  institutions  as  States  are  not  made  for  monetary  cor- 
porations, or  corporations  to  deal  in  property;  they  are  framed  to  pre- 
serve order,  to  punish  crimes,  to  protect  property  rights,  to  protect 
the  weak  against  the  strong,  and  there  the  proper  functions  cease. 
The  people  know  this  and  will  not  wish  to  have  new  temptations  to 
fraud  and  to  monopoly  set  on  foot,  as  would  be  done  by  the  Utah 
plan. 

The  Salt  Lake  City  Congress  did  resolve  that  its  members,  as  a 
majority,  were  in  favor  of  granting  in  trust,  upon  s>uch  conditions  as 
may  serve  the  public  interest,  to  the  States  and  Territories  needful  of 
irrigation,  all  lands  now  a  part  .of  the  public  domain  within  such 
States  and  Territories,  excepting  mineral  lands,  for  the  purpose  of 
developing  irrigation,  to  render  the  lands  now  arid  fertile  and  capable 
of  supporting  a  population. 

This  Convention,  under  trje  call  of  Governor  Toole  of  Montana,  is 
called,  it  is  declared  in  the  call,  because  it  is  "deemed  advisable  to 
obtain  a  direct  expression  of  the  people  of  Montana  upon  the  resolu- 
tions adopted  by  the  Salt  Lake  City  congress." 

This  is  a  useful  purpose.  One  will  hardly  think,  however,  that  a 
convention  made  up  by  the  selection  of  a  few  delegates  by  the 
boards  of  county  commissioners  will  necessarily  reflect  the  wishes  or 
views  of  the  people  on  this  topic  It  would  seem  more  to  the  pur- 
pose to  declare  that  a  convention  should  be  held  to  take  under  con- 
sideration the  matters  referred  to  in  the  resolution  of  the  Utah  con- 
gress, to  the  end  that  the  people  of  the  State  may  hear  arguments 
for  and  against  the  recommendations  embraced  in  the  U"tah  platform. 
The  discussion  of  the  questions  involved  would  be  highly  useful  and 
instructive.  Such  discussion  would  prepare  the  public  to  make  up  its 
mind  on  these  resolutions. 

I  have  somewhere  else  said  the  Convention  was  supposed  to  be 
called  "to  foster  interest  in  the  question  of  ceding  public  lands  to  the 
States  in  the  arid  region."  It  is  charged,  and  it  is  thought,  that  there 
is  a  desire  on  the  part  of  some  interested  cliques  to  create  a  public 
opinion  in  favor  of  such  a  course.  This  is  not  illegitimate  work, 
unless  the  open  and  full  opportunity  to  express  the  opposite  opinion 
is  denied  to  the  people.  That  opportunity  must  come,  however,  and 
the  forum  for  its  discussion  is  the  halls  of  Congress.  The  partici- 
pators in  that  discussion  will  be  "the  members  of  Congress  from  all 
parts  of  the  United  States.  I  shall  assume  members  of  Congress 
from  the  parts  east  of  the  looth  meridian  of  west  longitude  can  intel- 
ligently study  and  consider  this  question;  as  can  also  members  from 
the  arid  regions.  Such  intelligent  study  of  the  question  may  bring 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  4! 

wiser  results  of  legislation  than  if  the  solution  of  the  question  is  left 
to  rest  on  the  demands  of  voluntary  conventions  not  made  up  of  dele- 
gates chosen  by  the  people.  The  choice  of  members  of  Congress 
from  the  States  may  yet  turn  on  this  single  issue;  and  when  it  shall 
so  turn,  then  we  may  believe  that  the  mind  of  the  people  will  be  ascer- 
tained. In  the  meantime  agitation,  discussion  and  instruction  is  what 
may  be  best  sought  after.  Keep  these  conventions  going.  The  uses- 
of  these  conventions  are  the  agitation  of  the  question  and  the  instruc- 
tion to  grow  out  of  them.  We  all  profess  to  want  the  same  thing, 
i.  e.,  what  may  best  serve  the  public  interest.  My  insistance  will  be 
that  the  whole  of  the  vast  interests  involved  shall  be  duly  considered, 
that  the  views  of  men  who  have  been  prepared  by  study  and  observa- 
tion and  familiarity  with  the  subjects, may  be  brought  out;  and  that  we 
may  respectfully  hear  their  conclusions.  Against  the  quickly  pro- 
nounced resolves  of  delegates  chosen  to  declare  their  own  views,  and. 
who  do  not  profess  special  preparation  of  mind  to  form  such  views,  I 
would  wish  the  people  to  weigh  the  views  of  men  who  do  possess 
special  preparation  of  mind  on  these  questions.  I  would  call  an 
architect  to  advise  me  on  the  plan  and  construction  of  an  important 
edifice;  I  would  advise  with  a  lawyer  rather  than  a  tinsmith,  to  guide 
me  as  to  my  contract  rights  and  liabilities,  and  equally  wise  would  it 
be  to  consult  scientific  me^  and  statesmen  on  grave  questions  of  pre- 
servation of  natural  streams  of  water,  reservoirs  of  water  and  head 
waters,  and  forest  regions,  and  as  to  legislation  for  the  best  public 
interest,  and  long  enduring  public  interest.  Trained  and  able  men 
are  in  the  employment  of  the  government.  Let  us  have  their  advice. 
I  cannot  think  that  separate  States  can  deal  with  an  international 
question  of  right  to  use  and  conserve  natural  waters,  or  that  they  can 
deal  with  interstate  questions  of  the  same  nature,  or  that  poor  and 
feeble  States  can  sustain  the  pecuniary  burdens  of  scientific  investiga- 
tion and  publication  for  instruction,  of  geological  and  geographical 
surveys,  nor  of  building  reservoirs  and  canals.  Or  is  it  supposed  that 
Congress  will  wisely  cede  all  these  lands'  to  the  States  and  still  con- 
tinue all  its  expenditures  in  their  preparation  for  sale  and  disposal  the 
same  as  though  it  were  still  charged  with  holding  such  lands  in  trust 
for  all  the  citizens  of  the  nation? 

It  is  now  certain  that  these  matters  will  be  carried  on  at  nationa^ 
expense;  if  the  new  plan  is  adopted,  it  will  no  longer  at  least  be  cer- 
tain that  we  should  have  that  aid.  It  is  probable  \\e  should  lose 
such  aid. 

f  I  have  dwelt  somewhat  at  length  on  the  Utah  congress  it  is  be- 
cause in  ihe  call  for  this  Convention  in  which  we  are  speaking  the 
Governor  has  said  that  the  purpose  of  calling  the  Convention  is  to- 
take  the  sense  of  the  citizens  of  this  State  on  the  matters  resolved  on 
by  the  Utah  congress.  The  Utah  congress  is  made  the  leader  to  form 
opinion  in  favor  of  its  plan.  I  shall  venture  to  predict  that  your 


42  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

voice  will  call  a  halt  in  this  movement,  and  make  a  recommendation 
to  Congress  that  shall  fix  the  attention  of  Congressmen  from  the 
east  and  from  the  south,  on  our  needs,  while  showing  we  do  not  ask 
what  is  injurious. 

Now  we  have  been  presented  with  the  substance  of  the  argument 
in  favor  of  the  Utah  plan,  by  one  who  is  selected  as  its  exponent  be- 
cause of  his  ability  to  set  forth  the  argument,  and  because  he  did 
attend  that  congress,  and  having  been  fully  instructed,  crammed 
down  to  the  bottom  and  filled  full  to  the  top  with  the  utmost  argu- 
ment presented  in  that  congress  by  the  most  able  and  skillful  attor- 
neys for  a  certain  faction,  he  brings  here  to  us  that  argument. 
Necessarily  I  can  comment  on  that  argument.  I  listened  to  his 
speech  with  profound  respect,  and  with  the  utmost  interest,  in  order 
to  discover  the  reasons  for  the  Utah  plan,  and  to  give  to  him  the 
benefit  of  every  good  reason  he  could  assign. 

I  desire  to  ask  you  if  am  not  right  in  the  inference  from  his 
speech  that  his  argument  is  this:  We  want  the  arid  domain  placed 
within  control  of  the  States  respectively  in  which  it  is  situate,  for 
two  reasons.  One  is  that  we  need  development  of  irrigation,  and  in 
this  matter  Congress  will  not  help  us.  Secondly,  that  seventeen 
States  individually,  chopping  this  arid  domain  into  seventeen  frac- 
tions, can  better  manage  these  seventeen  fractions  than  the  United 
States  Congres>  can  manage  the  national  domain  as  an  entirety. 

I  grant  you  we  want  irrigation  development  (letting  this  phrase 
cover  the  whole  subject).  We  want  this  and  we  vant  it  as  rapidly  as 
it  may  be  done,  because  we  want  to  give  to  all  who  seek  it  the  bene- 
fit of  cheap  land  and  great  crops  in  this  region  which  we  know  is 
suited  to  be  the  habitation  of  the  highest  civilization  of  the  human 
family.  I  do  not  admit  that  Congress  will  not  help  us.  That,  at  least 
irom  the  stand  of  those  who  state  it  to  be  so,  is  an  unimproved  propo- 
sition. I  do  not  believe  it.  It  may  be  contradicted  from  our  present 
knowledge  of  legislation.  None  of  us  expect,  or,  T  may  say,  desire 
that  the  nation  should  build  irrigating  canals,  but  to  preserve  forests, 
to  make  reservoirs,  promote  surveys  and  make  laws  to  bring  the 
land  and  water  into  close  relation,  and  to  aid  in  some  manner  the 
irrigation  development,  is  expected  and  desired.  Appropriations  to 
this  end  have  been  made  already;  we  want  them  continued  or 
increased.  Already  a  standing  committee  has  been  made  in  the 
United  States  Senate  on  irrigation;  already  a  committee  is  formed  in 
the  House  on  this  subject.  A  bureau  of  irrigation  inquiry  is  established. 
We  want  it  more  amply  provided  for.  The  mind  of  the  people  is 
being  aroused  to  all  these  matters,  to  their  importance,  and  to  our 
needs.  Therefore  I  deny  that  Congress  will  not  aid  in  this  matter.  I 
can  conceive,  too,  that  the  impatience  of  young  and  sparsely  peopled 
States,  and  the  eager  haste  of  speculators  in  lands  and  canals  will  not 
be  pleased  with  any  slowness  on  the  part  of  Congress;  but  I  can  also 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  43 

conceive  that  too  great  haste  can  be  made  and  bold  expenditures  en- 
tered on  in  advance  of  the  means  of  a  population  to  justify  or  to  sus- 
tain them. 

The  next  point  is:  It  is  claimed  the  several  states  will  better  man- 
age the  lands  and  make  better  money  provision  than  Congress  could 
do.  This  is  certainly  not  so  in  my  judgment.  A  nation  of  sixty-five 
millions  of  people,  possessing  more  natural  resources  of  wealth  and 
taxable  ability  than  any  other  nation  on  the  globe,  is  surely  better 
able  to  sustain  the  burden  of  providing  money  for  the  aid  of  this  kind 
of  improvement  than  a  few  feeble  and  poor  states.  If  states  should 
undertake  any  works  of  this  nature  as  states,  they  would  not  do  any 
great  things,  or,  entering  upon  great  things,  they  would  become 
bankrupt.  But  I  do  not  believe  in  states  doing  any  of  these  things. 
If  states  do  not  make  the  improvements,  then  individuals,  or  private 
corporations,  or  municipal  corporations  in  the  form  of  irrigation  dis- 
tricts will  do  it,  and  in  either  of  these  events  they  will  be  better  done 
while  the  domain  is  controlled  by  the  nation  and  under  its  laws  than 
if  the  same  were  granted  to  the  several  states. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  work  out  the  details  of  any  plan.  I  am  only  to 
show  that  change  of  ownership  and  control  of  the  public  lands  will 
not  help  matters;  or  rather  I  should  say,  the  burden  is  on  those  who 
would  force  a  change  to  show  that  it  is  free  from  dangers  and  is  ben- 
eficial. We  who  are  conservative  stand  upon  the  ancient  ways.  If 
any  would  advise  to  make  a  change,  let  them  prove  that  such  a  change 
is  clearly  for  the  best  interests  of  the  people.  This  they  have  not 
done.  Has  the  policy  recommended  in  the  Utah  resolution  ever  been 
fully  considered,  or,  as  some  may  ask,  ever  been  honestly  put  before 
the  people? 

Most  of  the  voters  of  the  United  States,  we  may  feel  sure,  have 
never  thought  of  it.  Few  of  the  members  of  Congress  have  ever  con- 
sidered it.  It  is  new  to  them,  and  I  believe  those  who  have  heard  of 
the  demand  for  this  action,  outside  of  interested  parties,  have  not 
thought  of  it  as  a  likely  or  as  a  desirable  measure. 

The  recommendation  is  indeed  coupled  with  the  condition  that  the 
"trust  be  upon  such  conditions  as  may  serve  the  public  interest." 

The  trust  is  now  already  in  such  hands,  and  upon  such  conditions 
as  may  best  serve  the  public  interest.  It  may  in  its  present  hands  be 
moulded.  It  is  a  plastic  trust,  shapeable  to  the  best  needs  of  each 
state  and  of  the  whole  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 

The  petition  to  the  United  States  Congress  to  convey  the  lands  to 
the  State  in  trust  is  but  a  term  or  phrase  to  allure,  since  I  notice  that 
in  the  arguments  at  the  Utah  Congress  as  reported  the  position  is  in- 
sisted on  that  the  title  to  the  lands  shall  pass  absolutely  to  the  State, 
to  do  with  such  lands  as  they  please,  the  trust,  so  called,  being  simply 
that  the  proceeds  of  such  lands  shall  be  used  for  furthering  irrigation, 
or  for  irrigation  and  for  school  purposes. 


44  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

"The  trust  to  be  upon  such  conditions  as  may  serve  the  public  in- 
terest." Here  is  the  rub.  You  who  demand  a  ceding  of  these  lands 
to  the  State  say,  among  other  reasons,  that  the  present  law  under 
which  citizens  may  acquire  lands  is  not  well  adapted  to  the  condi- 
tions that  obtain  in  the  arid  region.  Such  a  thing  as  changes  and 
amendments  is  known  to  the  law  makers.  Remove  this  imperfection 
then. 

If  the  ownership  and  control  of  the  public  domain  passes  from  the 
nation  to  the  several  states,  the  land  surveys,  special  examinations, 
explorations,  educational  publications  at  national  expense  naturally 
cease.  To  continue  them  separated  from  the  trust  is  to  keep  things 
together  that  are  incongruous.  To  sell  my  farm  to  another  man  and 
then  for  the  grantee  to  expect  me  to  survey  his  lines  and  run  his- 
ditches  and  fence  and  break  up  his  land  is  not  in  harmony  with  our 
ideas  of  obligation  and  duty.  How  are  seventeen  states  and  territories 
to  carry  on  the  great  measures,  which  cost  millions  of  dollars  annually, 
that  we  are  now  agreed  are  useful  and  necessary  in  preparing  the 
lands  for  occupation?  The  speaker  who  preceded  me  is  not  fortu- 
nate in  his  allusion  to  state  control  of  lands.  Texas  and  California  are 
melancholy  illustrations  of  the  improvidence  of  guardianship  of  pub- 
lic lands. 

If  the  states  obtain  control  of  all  the  lands,  except  mineral,  imagine 
what  opportunities  for  corrupt  lobbying  would  be  opened  in  seventeen 
different  capitals.  A  pandemonium  and  a  riot  of  corruption  will 
ensue.  Arizona  has  a  population  by  the  census  of  1890  of  59,601. 
How  many  able  and  intrigueing  men  in  that  state  will  it  take  to  cut 
off  every  homestead  right  in  the  future,  every  desert  entry  right, 
timber  and  mineral  claim  in  many  instances?  And  how  long  will  it 
be  before  a  few  rich  land  barons  will  be  the  owners  of  most  of  the 
80,000,000  acres  of  lands  there?  California  is  a  state  where  individu- 
als have  big  holdings.  These  big  grants  and  big  acquisitions  of  lands 
are  recognized  as  a  blight  on  the  prosperity  of  the  State;  they  are  also- 
an  injustice  to  the  rest  of  the  citizens  not  sinister  enough  or  not  dex- 
terous enough  to  get  these  big  possessions.  But  these  things  are  not 
to  be  encouraged  by  any  forms  of  law  or  by  any  policy  of  public  man- 
agement. 

Said  Mr.  Estee,  of  California,  in  that  Utah  Congress:  "I  know  one 
man  who  owns  258,000  acres  of  valley  land  in  California,  and  every 
foot  of  that  258,000  acres  is  in  one  of  the  richest  valleys  of  that  great 
State,  and  there  is  not  an  acre  of  it  that  is  either  mountain  or  hill 
land." 

I  read  in  a  government  document,  House  of  Representatives, 
United  States  Congress,  report  of  Select  Committee  on  Irrigation, 
February  n,  1891,  that  one  firm  of  partners  owns  in  California  the 
water,  or  controls  the  water,  that  will  irrigate  2,000,000  acres  of  land; 
and  they  now  control  350,000  to  400,000  acres.  This  is  an  unjust 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  45 

agiandizement.  These  great  possessions  are  irresistably  inviting  to 
an  agrarian  experiment.  These -are  topics  for  communism  to  harp 
on.  Hateful  as  this  state  of  things  is,  it  is  not  an  animadversion  on 
the  men  who  own  these  properties  that  I  make.  I  point  the  moral  to 
another  purpose,  it  is  unjust  that  the  system  of  government  policy 
should  have  made  this  thing  possible.  Avoid  it  then  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible and  as  strenuously  as  possible  in  your  future  policy.  A  pesti- 
lence is  not  so  much  to  be  dreaded.  Think  you  a  poor  man  from 
Missouri  can  move  then  to  Arizona  and  get  land  and  water  at  a  cheap 
rate?  Can  a  farmer  go  thither  then  from  Holland  and  get  his  farm  on 
any  terms  except  as  speculators  may  dictate? 

I  name  Arizona  as  an  instance.  Will  it  be  any  better  than  in 
Nevada,  in  New  Mexico,  in  Idaho,  or  Montana,  or  Wyoming  or  other 
states?  Montana  is  of  course  virtuous.  We  have  seen  no  party 
strife  there;  no  attempt  to  steal  government  control  there.  Does  any 
junto  of  able  schemers  like  these  opportunities?  Do  they  covet 
them?  And  will  the  proposed  measure  make  the  opportunity,  and 
then  make  it  easy  to  seize. all  the  advantages  of  such  opportunities? 
The  instinct  of  the  average  citizen  tells  him  that  this  is  the  probable 
outcome  of  such  a  measure  of  cession  as  is  proposed.  This  argument 
against  the  measure  is  felt  to  be  a  weighty  one,  and  is  answered  by 
saying  that  the  virtue  of  the  governing  bodies  of  the  several  States 
will  keep  watch  and  ward  over  the  interests  of  the  poor  man!  I 
think  I  would  not  tempt  this  boasted  virtue  so  far  and  so  needlessly. 
You  say  Congress  will  do  nothing  further  for  you.  How  do  you 
know?  Appeal  to  Congress  for  suitable  and  reasonable  aid. 

Take  your  map  of  the  arid  west  and  see  where  all  the  interstate 
waters  are  located.  You  will  find  all  of  the  Missouri  headwaters  lie 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  within  the  states  of  Colorado,  Wyom- 
ing and  Montana.  You  will  be  able  to  find  all  the  Columbia's  head- 
waters heading  in  Montana  and  Wyoming.  Study  the  source  and 
course  of  the  Snake  River.  You  may  find  the  Rio  Grande  heading 
in  Colorado.  You  trace  the  Wind,  Bear  and  Green  Rivers,  the 
Grand,  the  Gunnison  and  San  Juan,  to  their  fountains  and  run  them 
down  to  their  mouth.  Some  of  them  tributary  and  headwater  sup- 
plies of  the  Colorado  River,  and  all  of  them  heading  in  Wyoming 
and  Colorado.  Search  elsewhere  and  you  will  find  no  interstate 
headwaters  of  any  large  value.  Lake  Tahoe,  in  California  and 
Nevada  may  not  be  omitted;  its  importance  entitles  it  to  a  reference. 
These  three  states,  Colorado,  Wyoming  and  Montana,  each  of  them 
declare  all  natural  waters  to  belong  to  the  state.  Hence  they  control 
all  the  valuable  stream  waters  at  their  sources.  Who  shall  umpire 
the  interstate  disputes  when  water  grows  more  valuable  and  more 
scarce  to  the  cultivated  land  area  than  now?  You  say  the  nation  and 
its  tribunals,  perhaps.  Truly.  Then  why  seek  to  destroy  the  juris- 
diction in  rem,  the  power  over  the  thing  itself,  which  is  the  most 
salutory  feature  of  our  present  system. 


46  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDIMGS 

I  may  not  omit  to  mention  that  British  Columbia  and  Old  Mexico 
have  a  finger  in  the  pie.  Is  it  a  salutary  thing  to  so  place  states  in 
antagonism  to  these  fringing  notions  as  to  stir  up  strife?  But  you 
say  the  strife  is  begun.  Mexico  frets,  her  right  hand  lifted;  and 
British  Columbia  is  on  her.  guard,  in  the  attitude  of  parry.  Well, 
then,  keep  the  matter  where  it  will  be  no  worse,  and  where  it  may, 
by  prudence  and  forbearance  and  wisdom  and  unity,  become  much 
better. 

I  will  not  point  to  where,  nor  with  what  interest,  nor  in  what 
selfishness  this  movement  began.  That  would  excite  prejudice 
against  it,  and  what  I  wish  is  candor,  examination  and  reflection.  If 
the  policy  is  wise,  no  matter  who  pushes  it  forward,  nor  where  it 
started. 

Is  the  proposed  change  an  improvement?  Merely  because  it  is  a 
change,  is  it  good?  I  do  not  hesitate  to  state  my  views.  It  is  the 
cautionary  signal  held  up  by  one  humble  citizen  while  the  train  is 
still  getting  under  way,  and  while  it  is  easy  to  slack  up. 

Congress  had  best  administer  in  the  public  domain  everywhere. 
The  poor  man  is  thus  better  off  all  over  the  states.  The  subject  mat- 
ter in  all  its  details  is  then  under  a  control  that  will  enforce 
uniformity  in  the  care  and  disposal  of  parcels  of  the  public  domain, 
and  thus  only  can  this  be  done.  The  nation  of  65,000,000  of  people 
can  bear  the  burden  of  expense  incidental  to  such  control  better  than 
states  poor  in  means  of  raising  money  and  spare  in  populations,  and 
new  means  and  avenues  of  legislative  corruption  are  thus  kept  from 
being  opened  up. 

Many  persons  will  stigmatize  this  demand  for  ceding  lands  as  the 
biggest  scheme  for  personal  aggrandizement  ever  broached  before  the 
American  people. 

Congress  will  not  fail  in  due  time  to  meet  all  the  just  demands  of 
the  irrigation  districts.  Bills  are  now  before  Congress  on  this  subject 
of  great  importance.  Some  worthy,  some  crude,  perhaps,  but  these 
are  attempts  in  the  right  direction. 

A  wise  Congress  will  not  fail  to  keep  in  perpetuity  the  heads  of  all 
the  principal  streams  and  forest  and  water  reservations.  The  pastoral 
or  water-gathering  lands  above  5,000  feet  in  altitude  should  be  re- 
tained and  only  parted  with  where  it  is  known  that  no  impediment  is 
thus  created  in  the  gathering  and  flow  of  waters.  The  value  of  the 
arid  lands  is  in  the  waters. 

My  watchword  is  "extension  of  irrigation  under  national  control'* 
(not  at  national  expense),  gradual,  sure,  and  up  to  the  point  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  coming  millions  of  people  into  the  arid  region. 
Twenty  years  from  now  100,000,000  of  people  will  dwell  in  these 
United  States,  and  the  abundance  of  agricultural  wealth  to  come  out 
of  the  arid  region  by  means  of  irrigation  will  he  known  and  appreci- 
ated then  as  it  is  not  now. 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  47 

May  the  deliberations  of  this  Convention  be  of  use  to  all  the  peo- 
ple of  all  the  states. 

Mi\  Carney,  of  Madison:  There  are  quite  a  number 
of  us  old  farmers  here  who  have  listened  very  attentively 
to  quite  a  number  of  eloquent  speeches.  We  are  not 
familiar,  however,  with  oratory  as  we  are  with  practical 
farming.  Therefore  we  would  like  to  ask  a  few  ques- 
tions in  order  that  some  eloquent  gentleman  might  throw 
some  light  on  the  subject.  Thus  far  they  have  failed  to 
do  so.  Show  us  the  man  who  is  going  to  be  benefited 
by  the  State  getting  the  land.  What  is  going  to  become 
of  the  poor  man's  homestead  rights?  The  man  who 
starts  out  without  money,  how  is  he  going  to  get  hold  of 
it  if  the  State  secures  it?  We  can  look  back  upon  the 
history  of  the  farmers  for  the  past  few  years.  Some  of 
them  are  making  money  out  of  the  soil,  and  I  venture  to 
say  that  there  are  large  numbers  of  the  farmers  of  Mon- 
tana that  have  fallen  short  of  making  both  ends  meet 
within  the  last  three  years.  I  am  simply  asking  these 
questions  for  ourselves.  We  are  not  orators  or  talkers. 
We  can  think  and  theorize  and  read  perhaps  as  well  as 
some  that  can  do  more  talking.  I  believe  you  will  find 
that  the  agricultural  people  will  bring  a  majority 
against  it. 

Mr.  A.  C.  Botkin :  The  fifteen-minute  rule  can  be  di- 
vided by. three.  The  argument  ad  hominum  has  been 
introduced  not  by  those  who  favor  the  expression  con- 
tained in  the  Salt  Lake  platform.  You  have  heard  cer- 
tain things  from  the  lips  of  Senator  Power  and  Mr, 
Gregory,  charging  that  the  Salt  Lake  Convention  was- 
under  the  personal  influence  of  railroad  men.  These  are 
the  gentlemen  who  are  held  before  us  as  a  warning,  as 
reasons  why  we  should  not  support  the  expression  of  the 
Salt  Lake  platform.  Now,  the  argument  ad  hominum 
having  been  introduced  by  the  gentleman,  let  us  pursue 
it  into  the  other  part.  Whom  do  we  find  on  this  floor 
who  are  the  most  active  and  efficient  in  opposing  the 
Salt  Lake  platform?  I  will  name  Mr.  Z.  T.  Burton,. 
Charles  A.  Gregory  and  Mr.  Thompson  and  others  that 
I  might  mention  who  are  connected  with  irrigation  enter- 
prises in  this  State.  I  feel  myself  highly  honored  to  be 
here  with  these  gentlemen  who  are  engaged  in  an  effort 


48  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

to  solve  this  problem  of  irrigation.  The  ownership  of 
the  water  involves  the  control  of  the  sale,  the  ability  of 
the  owner  of  the  water  to  fix  rates,  and  involves  a  taxa- 
tion power  more  dangerous  than  anything  that  we  repose 
in  our  representatives  in  our  Legislative  Assembly.  Let 
us  guard  against  that  and  against  the  growth  of  these 
great  water  barons. 

In  criticising  Mr.  Strevell's  substitute  the  latter  gentle- 
man asked  if  Mr.  Botkin  knew  that  from  the  sales  of 
government  land  the  State  had  already  received  $20,000 
since  its  admission  into  the  Union. 

Mr.  Donald  Bradford:  I  would  like  to  correct.  The 
lands  were  sold  over  in  the  City  of  Missoula.  They 
were  town  lots. 

Mr.  R.  O.  Hickman:  The  State  received  $18,707.04, 
being  five  per  cent,  of  the  land  sales.  Missoula  is  a  dif- 
ferent matter  altogether. 

Mr.  Botkin :  According  to  Judge  Strevell's  substitute, 
irrigation  works  are  to  be  constructed  from  the  proceeds 
of  the  sales  of  lands  which  cannot  be  sold  until  after  the 
works  are  constructed.  In  speaking  of  the  Salt  Lake 
Convention,  Mr.  Botkin  said  he  had  been  one  of  the  del- 
egates, and  did  not  believe  he  had  fallen  into  any  trap. 

B.  F.  Shuart,  of  Yellowstone,  then  addressed  the  Con- 
vention as  follows: 

Mr,  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  » 

I  did  not  have  the  pleasure  of  being  a  member  of  the  Salt  Lake 
Convention.  I  have  read  its  proceedings.  The  first  resolution  now 
under  discussion  is  based  upon  three  assumptions.  The  first  is  that 
in  the  development  of  the  arid  region  we  have  reached  a  crisis.  It  is 
said  about  all  has  been  accomplished  that  can  be  accomplished  by  in- 
dividual enterprise.  There  is  force  in  that  statement  The  second 
assertion  is  that  the  general  government  cannot  be  depended  upon 
for  the  reclamation  of  these  lands  I  feel  there  is  great  force  in  that 
statement,  these  arid  empires  of  the  area  of  the  United  States.  The 
magnitude  of  this  undertaking  in  Montana  is  something  wonderful. 
I  find  from  my  reading  of  engineers'  reports  that  a  very  conservative 
estimate  is  that  the  lands  can  be  reclaimed  at  $6  per  acre.  If  we  have 
here  in  Montana  18,500,000  acres  of  arable  lands  that  it  will  cost  $6 
per  acre  to  reclaim,  we  are  confronted  at  once  with  a  cost  of  $110,- 
000,000.  Is  there  any  one  here  who  supposes  for  one  moment  that 
that  there  is  any  use  to  even  look  to  the  general  government  for  ap- 
propriations, going  into  the  subject  of  figures,  in  reclaiming  these 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  49 

lands?  I  think  it  is  useless,  to  say  nothing  of  fifteen  states  or  terri- 
tories. So  we  can  see  that  there  is  a  great  deal  to  say  on  this  subject. 
Still  there  is  another  assumption.  That  is,  inasmuch  as  the  general 
government  cannot  be  relied  on,  the  general  government  ought  to 
cede  the  lands  to  the  State;  then  the  problem  is  solved.  That  is  an 
untrue  proposition,  and  I  am  very  sorry  that  there  are  any  personal 
reflections  in  this  matter.  There  are  reasons  which  underlie  those 
Salt  Lake  resolutions.  The  first  objection  to  that  resolution  is  this, 
that  it  is  in  the  interest  of  the  monopolists.  The  theory  given  is  that 
reclamation  should  be  tried.  You  know  it  is  the  time  honored  policy 
of  our  government  to  distribute  public  lands  in  small  holdings  to  the 
actual  settler.  It  is  recognized  that  the  home  is  one  of  the  vital 
factors  in  upbuilding  a  commonwealth,  and  it  is  this  principle  which 
the  government  recognizes  in  dispensing  these  lands  to  multiply  the 
homes.  So  it  has  ever  been  the  disposition  to  distribute  the  domain 
in  small  holdings  to  actual  settlers.  And  any  policy  which  tends  to 
destroy  that  principle  tends  to  destroy  the  heritage  of  the  common 
people.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  State  undertaking  the 
reclamation  of  these  lands  have  been  very  ably  stated.  Our  State 
Constitution  limits  the  indebtedness  to  $3,000,000,  and  $2,500,000  are 
now  consumed  in  the  running  expenses  of  the  State.  Should  these 
lands  be  ceded  it  would  require,  as  I  have  shown,  over  $100,000,000 
for  their  reclamation,  to  say  nothing  of  the  amount  to  take  care  of 
them.  In  some  of  the  states  where  lands  have  been  ceded  in  limited 
quantities  the  corporations  have  been  allowed  to  reclaim  them.  This 
is  done  in  Colorado,  where  the  state  sells  the  lands  to  corporations, 
and  allowing  them  to  reclaim  and  sell  to  actual  settlers.  Now,  then, 
it  is  just  so  in  California.  You  have  heard  the  plan  which  is  pursued 
there.  Do  you  know  what  it  means  to  have  these  lands  reclaimed  in 
that  state?  We  find  by  examination  that  the  farmers  are  required  all 
over  this  arid  region  to  pay  from  $5  to  $8.  After  they  are  reclaimed 
the  companies,  over  and  above  the  original  cost  of  the  land,  over  and 
above  the  cost  of  bringing  the  water  upon  the  land  and  repairs  to 
them,  have  a  clear  profit  of  from  $5  to  $8.  Then  they  are  still 
obliged  to  pay  from  25  cents  to  $2  per  acre  for  the  running  expenses 
of  ditches,  making  the  actual  cost  less  than  $10  per  acre.  This  is 
what  it  means  to  have  the  lands  pass  into  the  hands  of  monopolies  de- 
veloped in  that  state.  We  have  a  number  of  such  instances  where 
lands  have  been  ceded  to  the  states.  Notably  in  California,  where  the 
lands  went  in  a  very  short  time  into  the  control  of  corporations  and 
monopolies.  Suppose  these  lands  were  ceded  to  the  State,  and  that 
the  State  Legislature  would  administer  them  in  the  interests  of  the 
people.  It  is  very  flattering  to  our  self-respect.  But  now,  gentle- 
men, in  this  case  it  is  one  of  the  facts  of  experience  that  when  trusts 
have  been  committed  to  the  legislatures  of  the  states  they  have  not 
always  been  true  to  the  interests  of  the  people,  and  the  monopolies 
have  gained  strong  foothold.  I  call  your  attention  to  a  very  peculiar 


5O  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

difficulty  which  concerns  the  irrigation  of  this  land  by  the  Legislature. 
Do  you  suppose  a  Legislature  would  be  selected,  in  the  event  of  the 
lands  being  ceded,  of  men  who  are  not  personally  interested  in  having 
the  lands  ceded  to  the  State?  This  question  is  comparatively  a  new 
one  and  one  which  calls  for  the  highest  wisdom,  and  should  not  be 
settled  without  much  discussion,  so  that  the  true  interests  of  our  coun- 
try may  be  served. 

Mr.  Z.  T.  Burton,  of  Choteau:  I  am  not  here  with 
any  purpose  of  talking  to  you  in  a  spread  eagle  style. 
I  am  here  to  talk  on  a  plain  practical  question.  On  this 
question  of  not  being  afraid  to  trust  this  matter  to  future 
legislatures  of  this  State,  that  will  do  for  Fourth  of  July 
orations.  We  are  here  for  the  purpose  of  settling  this 
question  whether  we  want  the  government  to  give  us 
these  lands.  We  represent  the  State  of  Montana,  and 
are  not  to  consult  the  wishes  of  the  people  of  other 
states.  Our  object  is  to  encourage  irrigation.  Now 
who  is  going  to  build  the  water  wavs?  It  is  very  well 
to  talk  about  future  legislatures,  and  it  is  very  well  to 
talk  about  appropriations  from  Congress,  but  I  want  to 
say  here  and  nowr  that  I  don't  believe  Congress  will  ever 
build  an  irrigating  canal  in  this  Stat<\  The  canals  will 
be  built  not  by  Congress  or  the  State,  but  by  private  in- 
dividuals engaged  in  that  work.  It  takes  money  and* 
brains  to  build  irrigation  enterprises.  We  have  got  to 
look  at  this  question  from  a  practical  standpoint.  This 
State  has  not  the  money  to  manage  that  colossal  land 
grant  of  some  17,000,000  acres.  It  will  take  $2,000,000 
to  $3,000,000  to  get  the  land  into  condition. 

A.  J.  Seligman,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  I  appreciate 
this  subject  as  a  business  man,  and  am  thoroughly  with 
the  expression  that  our  first  duty  is  toward  the  State.  I 
cannot  see  what  positive  good  is  to  come  from  this  Salt 
Lake  Convention,  and  have  yet  failed  to  see  any  good 
reasons  for  adopting  that  platform.  The  accepting  of 
these  lands  by  the  State  is  a  very  serious  proposition. 
It  will  require  the  establishment  of  a  great  many  new 
land  offices  and  will  develop  a  number  of  political  ques- 
tions. And  the  matter  of  taxes  is  a  very  serious  one  to 
our  taxpayers.  We  do  not  want  our  taxes  increased. 

Mr.  Melton,  of  Beaverhead:  If  this  irrigation  prob- 
lem is  to  be  solved  it  must  be  done  by  the  men  on  the 
ground.  We  are  not  here  to  wage  war  against  any 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  51 

man.  We  are  here  for  the  purpose  of  rinding  out  what 
is  best  to  do,  and  to  do  it;  that  is  the  question.  The 
Salt  Lake  platform  is  not  an  invaluable  guide. 

R.  H.  Howey,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  When  we  come 
to  vote  on  accepting  these  lands  we  are  voting  for  the 
overturning  of  a  land  system  that  has  been  established 
for  a  hundred  years.  There  has  not  been  anything  that 
has  done  so  much  for  the  country  as  the  landed  policy. 
Our  government  has  established  these  liberal  land  laws 
which  have  given  so  many  homes  to  citizens  of  the  land 
and  aided  in  upbuilding  a  great  country.  It  is  for  the 
advocates  of  this  measure  to  show  the  wisdom  of  over- 
turning such  a  policy  and  turning  a  great  domain  over 
to  the  legislatures  of  seventeen  states.  I  believe  the 
people  who  have  come  here  and  made  their  homes  here 
are  the  people  who  can  best  solve  this  question  for  them- 
selves. 

Samuel  Word,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke:  I  am  not  posted 
on  the  subject  of  irrigation,  but  must  confess  that  after 
listening  to  some  of  the  speakers  I  have  felt  like  irrigat- 
ing. If  any  one  expects  that  I  am  going  to  make  an 
argument  upon  this  question  that  will  be  interesting  I 
am  glad  of  it,  because  I  find  myself  on  both  sides  of  the 
proposition.  I  cannot  say  that  I  am  entirely  in  accord 
with  the  Salt  Lake  resolutions.  I  am  ready  to  take  any 
land  that  the  government  will  cede  to  the  State.  I  ob- 
ject to  the  first  resolution  because  it  asks  the  govern- 
ment to  put  restrictions  on  the  lands.  I  am  not  afraid 
that  Montana  cannot  take  care  of  them.  Let  us  take 
them.  If  we  are  afraid  of  ourselves  let  us  substitute  for 
this  resolution,  "For  God's  sake  don't  give  us  any  lands; 
we  don't  want  them." 

The  Committee  of  the  Whole  decided  to  recommend 
the  adoption  of  the  substitute  offered  by  Mr.  Strevell,  of 
Custer  Countv. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  8:20  p.  m. 
Mr.    Chisholm,    Chairman    of    the   Committee   of  the 
Whole,  submitted  the  following  report: 


52  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: — I 
have  the  honor  to  report  that  previous  to  its  adjourn- 
ment the  Committee  of  the  Whole  recommended  the 
adoption  of  Mr.  Strevell's  substitute  for  Article  i  of  the 
Sail  Lake  platform. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Strevell,  of  Custer  County,  the  sub- 
stitute was  adopted. 

Mr.  Sutherlin,  of  Meagher,  presented  the  following 
resolution,  which  was  adopted: 

Rcaolvt'd,  That  the  next  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Montana  be 
memorialized  to  enact  a  law  similar  in  its  provisions  to  the  Wright 
Irrigation  Law  of  California  for  the  furtherance  of  the  interests  of 
farmeis  in  the  matter  of  constructing  reservoirs  and  irrigation 
can.ils  and  the  government  of  the  distribution  of  the  water. 

Mr.  Burton,  of  Choteau  moved,  and  it  was  carried, 
that  the  resolutions  offered  by  Mr.  Botkin,  of  Lewis  ind 
Clarke,  which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Reso- 
lutions, be  referred  back  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Strevell  the  Convention  went  into 
committee  of  the  whole. 

The  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Botkin,  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  concerning  the  taxation  of  irrigating  ditches,  was 
taken  up. 

Mr.  Irvine,  of  Silver  Bow,  stated  that  the  delegates 
from  that  county  were  to  be  guided  in  the  matter  by  the 
members  representing  the  agricultural  districts,  and  that 
they  had  come  to  the  Convention  with  that  idea. 

On  motion  of  A.  J.  Seligman  the  Chairman  was  in- 
structed to  recommend  to  the  Convention  that  the  reso- 
lution be  indeiinitely  postponed. 

Mr.  Sutherlin,  of  Meagher,  introduced  the  following, 
which  was  recommended  for  adoption: 

Hi-wived,  That  the  next  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Montana  be 
memori  -lized  to  enact  a  law  similar  in  its  provisions  to  the  Wright 
Irrigation  Law  of  California,  for  the  furtherance  of  the  interests  of 
the  farmers  in  the  matter  of  constructing  reservoirs  and  irrigating 
canals,  and  the  government  of  the  distribution  of  the  waters. 

Mr.  Weed,  of  Lewis  and  "Clarke,  introduced  the  fol- 
lov\ing,  which  was  adopted: 

WHEREAS,  There  will  be  held  in  the  year  1892  a  National  Irriga- 
tion Congress  to  be  attended  by  delegates  from  all  the  States  and 
Territories  of  the  arid  region  of  the  United  States;  and 

WM  UREAS,  The  place  where  such  Congress  shall  be  held  has  not 
been  fixed,  and  is  to  be  designated  by  the  Executive  Committee  of 
said  Congress,  consisting  of  one  delegate  from  each  or  the  arid  States 
and  Territories;  and 


STATE     IRRIGATION     CONVENTION.  53 

WHEREAS,  Montana  has  within  its  boundaries  more  acres  of  land 
susceptible  of  irrigation,  and  more  water  available  for  irrigation  pur- 
poses, than  any  other  State  or  Territory;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  State  Irrigation  Convention  of  the  State  of 
Montana,  assembled  in  the  city  of  Helena,  extends  to  the  National 
Irrigation  Congress,  through  its  Executive  Committee,  a  cordial  and 
unanimous  invitation  to  hold  1t>  annual  session  for  the  year  1892  in 
the  State  of  Montana. 

The  committee  arose  and  reported. 

In  Convention  the  report  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Whole  was  adopted. 

Mr.  Strevell:  Mr.  President,  I  move  that  the  Sec- 
retary of  this  Convention  be  and  hereby  is  requested  to 
transmit  to  the  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress 
from  this  State  the  resolution  which  has  been  adopted 
by  this  Convention  as  a  substitute  for  the  first  resolution 
of  the  Salt  Lake  platform,  and  that  such  action  be  au- 
thenticated by  the  President  of  this  Convention  and  be 
transmitted  at  the  earliest  practicable  day.  Carried. 

A  motion  asking  for  the  appointment  of  a  State  Engi- 
neer, whose  duties  \vould  be  to  guard  the  distribution  of 
waters  for  irrigation,  report  upon  the  capacity  of  streams 
for  irrigating  purposes,  report  upon  the  growth  of  the 
uses  of  waters  of  rivers  and  streams  and  generally  col- 
lect data  upon  all  subjects  relating  to  works  of  engi- 
neering of  interest  to  the  State  and  its  inhabitants,  was 
introduced. 

It  wras  moved  and  seconded  that  this  motion  be  indefi- 
nitely postponed.  Carried. 

Mr.  Gregory,  of  Gallatin :  Mr.  President,  I  move  that 
when  this  Convention  adjourns  they  adjourn  to  take  up 
the  subject  of  irrigation  under  a  special  order  of  business, 
and  that  the  question  of  considering  the  state  of  irrigation 
in  the  various  counties  be  then  discussed,  each  county 
making  a  special  report  on  the  subject.  Carried. 

The  President:  I  announce  the  hour  of  a  quarter 
after  eleven  as  the  time  to  take  up  the  special  order  of 
business  called  for  in  this  motion. 

Moved  and  seconded  that  a  committee  of  one  member 
from  each  county  be  appointed,  who  shall  report  a 
recommendation  as  to  what  city  in  Montana  the  National 
Irrigation  Congress  shall  be  invited  to  assemble  in  1892. 
Carried. 

Adjourned  until  10  a.  m.  Saturday. 


54  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

SATURDAY    MORNING,  JAN.  9. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  10  a.  m. 

Mr.  Meyers,  Chairman  of  the  Invitation  Committee, 
reported  as  follows:  "Your  committee  charged  to  select 
a  town  to  invite  the  National  Irrigation  Congress  next 
summer  to  hold  its  deliberations  have  performed  their 
labors,  and  recommend  that  this  Convention  name  the  city 
of  Helena." 

After  several  ballots  the  Convention  selected  the  town 
of  Anaconda  as  the  place  to  which  to  invite  the  National 
Irrigation  Congress. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  2  p.  m.  by 
Chairman  Hauser. 

An  invitation  was  read  by  the  Secretary,  inviting 
the  members  of  the  Convention  to  witness  the  working, 
at  7:30  P.  M.,  of  an  Egyptian  screw  exhibited  at  7  Main 
street. 

Mr.  Clark,  of  Silver  Bow,  introduced  the  following 
resolution : 

WHEREAS,  This  Convention  has  heard  with  interest  the  reports 
from  different  parts  of  this  State  in  reference  to  the  matter  of  artesian 
wells  now  in  active  flow  in  different  localities,  therefore  be  it 

Jtcxolved,  That  this  Convention  earnestly  urge  upon  our  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  Congress  to  use  every  effort  to  secure  as  large 
an  appropriation  as  possible  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  question  as 
to  the  practicability  of  this  manner  of  water  supply  for  this  State,  the 
monev  to  be  used  in  the  actual  sinking  of  welN,  and  not  in  expensive 
theorizing. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  Wade  introduced  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  our  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  Congress  be  requested  to  implore  and,  if  pos- 
sible, secure  large  appropriations  for  public  surveys  in  Montana,  this 
State  having  at  present  bur  one-fifth  of  its  land  surveyed,  70,000,000 
acres  being  yet  unsurveyed. 

Re.solved,  That  we  believe  it  will  best  subserve  the  interests  of  this 
State  if  no  appropriation  whatever  be  made  under  the  direction  of 
Major  Powell,  of  the  government  geological  survey,  for  the  State  of 
Montana.  But  we  do  ask  for  an  appropriation  for  scientific  research 
under  a  state  department  of  agriculture,  whereby  knowledge  of  much 
value  to  this  State  may  be  obtained  and  a  complete  record  of  all  mon- 
eys expended  be  made. 


STATE    IRRIGATION    CONVENTION.  55 

A  Delegate:  Mr.  President,  I  move  the  adoption  of 
this  resolution. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  Cree  introduced  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  State  Irrigation  Convention  are 
hereby  extended  to  the  citizens  <•£  Helena,  to  the  members  of  the 
press,  the  railway  officials  and  to  the  Montana  Club  for  their  kindness 
and  for  the  courtesies  extended  to  it  by  them. 

Mr.  Clark,  of  Silver  Bow:  Mr.  President,  I  move  that 
the  Secretary  read  the  second  and  third  resolutions  of 
the  Salt  Lake  platform. 

Seconded  and  carried. 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  two  resolutions  called  for, 
as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  the  committee 
selected  lo  propose  and  present  to  Congress  the  memorial  of  this  Con- 
vention respecting  public  lands  should  ask  as  a  preliminary  to  the 
cession  of  all  lands  in  the  territories,  in  accordance  with  the  resolu- 
tions of  this  Convention,  a  liberal  grant  to  said  territories  and  to  the 
states  to  be  formed  therefrom  of  the  public  lands  to  be  devoted  to 
public  school  purposes. 

Resolved,  That  the  representatives  of  all  the  states  and  territories 
directly  interested  in  irrigation  do  hereby  pledge  their  unwavering- 
support  to  the  just  demand  of  such  settlers;  that  the  general  govern- 
ment shall  donate  at.  least  a  portion  of  the  funds  received  from  the 
sale  of  such  lands  toward  the  procurement  of  the  means  necessary  for 
thrir  irrigation. 

Mr.  Clark :  Mr.  President,  I  move  the  adoption  of 
these  two  resolutions. 

This  motion,  having  received  a  second,  was  regularly 
put  and  carried. 

Mr.  Gregory:  Mr.  President,  I  desire  to  introduce 
the  following  resolution,  which  the  Secretary  will  please 
read: 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Convention  is  hereby  in- 
structed to  prepare  a  report  of  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention, 
embracing,  besides  the  routine  business,  also  the  speeches  and  partic- 
ularly the  important  features  and  statistics  of  all  the  agricultural  and 
irrigation  reports  from  the  several  counties  represented,  and  the  dele- 
gates reporting  on  such  facts  are  requested  to  send  in  writing  the 
substance  of  such  reports  to  the  Secretary;  and  that  this  Convention 
do  provide  for  the  compilation  and  printing  of  the  same,  and  for  this 
purpose  a  committee  be  hereby  appointed  to  do  the  work  of  compila- 
tion and  see  to  the  publication  of  the  same. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  Weed:     Mr.   President,  I   move    that    a    vote  of 


56  REPORT    OF    PROCEEDINGS 

thanks  be  extended  to  the  President  and  other  officers 
of  this  Convention  for  the  services  which  they  have  so 
cheerfully  rendered. 

Carried. 

Mr.  Clark:  Mr.  President,  I  move  that  each  county 
be  requested  to  pay  their  pro  rata  share  of  the  expense 
of  the  compiling  and  printing  the  proceedings^of  this 
Convention. 

Carried. 

W.  E.  Cullen,  Lewis  and  Clarke:  Mr.  President,.  I 
desire  to  introduce  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved^  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  by  the  Chair,  to 
be  known  a?  the  Committee  on  Legislation,  the  duties  of  which  com- 
mittee shall  be  to  prepare  and  submit  to  the  next  Legislative  Assem- 
bly of  the  State  of  Montana  such  bilN  as  in  their  judgment  may  tend 
to  encourage  the  construction  of  canals  and  reservoirs  for  irrigation 
purposes;  and  that  the  committee,  as  a  part  of  its  duty,  take  in  charge 
the  matters  set  forth  in  the  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Bradford  and 
that  offered  by  Mr.  Sutherlin. 

The  President  then  named  the  following  permanent 
committees: 

On  Publication— E.  D.  Weed,  W.  C.  Child  and  B. 
Brown,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke. 

On  Legislation — W.  H.  Sutherlin,  Meagher;  J.HA. 
Browne,  Beaverhead;  G.  E.  Ingersoll,  Cascade;  J.  W. 
Strevell,  Custer;  William  Flannery,  Gallatin.  _^ 

On  motion  the  President  appointed  a  committee  of  one 
from  each  county  to  perfect  a  permanent  organization  of 
the  Montana  Irrigation  Convention,  as  follows:  Joseph 
A.  Browne,  Beaverhead;  Z.  T.  Burton,  Choteau;  W.  B. 
S.  Higgins,  Custer;  H.  P.  Rolfe,  Cascade;  George  Mc- 
Comb,  Dawson;  C.  K.  Hardenbrook,  Deer  Lodge;  S. 
S.  Hobbon,  Fergus;  J.  W.  Caldwell,  Gallatin;  W.  C. 
Child,  Lewis  and  Clarke;  Henry  Whaley,  Meagher;  A. 
G.  England,  Missoula.  R.  O.  Hickman,  Madison;  B.  F. 
Shuart,  Yellowstone;  E.  G.  Brooke,  Jefferson. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Love,  of  Jefferson,  the  Convention 
adjourned  sine  die. 


APPENDIX 


Showing  the  State  of  Irrigation  in  the  Counties. 


CUSTER  COUNTY. 

To  present  at  this  time  a  report  on  irrigation  in  Custer  County 
which  would  describe  fully  or  accurately  her  various  ditches,  artesian 
wells,  irrigation  pumps  and  other  irrigation  works  would  require 
more  statistical  work  and  time  than  it  has  been  practicable  to  devote. 
Custer  County  is  situated  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  State  of 
Montana,  and  comprises  a  vast  domain,  over  a  hundred  by  a  hundred 
and  thirty-five  miles  square.  The  irrigation  enterprises  alluded  to  are 
situated  in  various  sections  of  the  county,  many  of  them  partially 
completed  and  others  under  construction. 

The  largest  ditch  now  in  operation  in  the  county  is  that  owned  and 
operated  by  the  Miles  City  Irrigating  and  Ditch  Company,  which  has 
cost  about  $100,000.  The  head  gate  is  situated  fourteen  miles  from 
Miles  City,  where  the  water  is  taken  from  Tongue  River  by  means  of 
a  permanent  dam,  constructed  entirely  across  the  stream,  raising  the 
water  some  twelve  feet  above  its  natural  bed.  This  ditch  has  a  ca- 
pacity at  present  of  3,000  inches,  and  is  completed  for  twenty  miles. 
There  is  sufficient  water  retained  by  this  company's  dam  to  enable 
them  to  extend  their  ditch  to  twice  its  length  and  enlarge  its  carrying 
capacity  three  or  four  times  and  still  have  abundance  of  water  to 
draw  upon.  There  is  lying  under  this  canal  30,000  to  3S,ooo  acres  of 
good  productive  soil,  only  1,500  to  2,000  acres  of  which  are  as  yet 
being  irrigated  and  improved.  These  lands  alluded  to  as  good  and 
productive,  when  viewed  in  their  natural  state  are  as  uninviting  and 
unpromising  as  could  well  be  found,  but  when  water  is  applied  our 
native  blue  stem  (than  which  no  better  forage  plant  exists)  immedi- 
ately springs  up.  So  phenomenal  has  been  the  success  of  the  first 
users  of  the  waters  of  this  canal  that  the  adjacent  lands  are  being 


58  APPENDIX    SHOWING    THE    STATE    OF 

rapidly  boughtfand  the  sage  and  grease  wood  removed,  so  that  1892 
will  see  one  to  two  thousand  acres  added  to  the  amount  as  above 
under  cultivation. 

The  next  largest  ditch,  and  the  largest  private  enterprise  of  this 
kind  in  our  county,  is  situated  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Rosebud, 
owned  and  operated  by  Hubbard  &  Thompson,  who  irrigate  1,500  to 
1,800  acres  of  native  hay,  alfalfa,  corn,  orfts,  barley,  and  such  garden 
crops  as  tomatoes,  potatoes,  melons,  okra,  egg  plant,  oyster  plant,  etc., 
etc.  Their  entire  system  of  ditches  comprise  nearly  thirty  miles  in 
length,  the  smallest  being  six  feet  at  top  and  four  feet  at  bottom,  car- 
rying a  depth  of  ten  inches  of  water,  the  larger  being  ten  feet  at  top 
and  eight  feet  at  bottom,  fifteen  inches  deep.  The  total  cost  of  this 
work,  including  fencing  and  reclaiming  the  land,  which  would  have 
remained  absolutely  worthless  without  irrigation,  has  been  in  this  case 
about  $10  to  $12  per  acre. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Yellowstone,  in  the  western  part  of  our 
county,  a  ditch  ten  feet  at  top  and  seven  feet  at  bottom,  and  some 
eight  miles  long,  is  under  construction,  and  promises  speed v  comple- 
tion. This  ditch  is  designed  to  irrigate  what  is  known  as  Pease  Bot- 
tom, one  of  the  most  beautiful  sections  of  the  great  Yellowstone  val- 
ley, comprising  more  than  18,000  acres. 

Below  Miles  City  ten  miles,  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, is  being  constructed  a  canal,  several  miles  of  which  are  already 
graded,  and  a  large  amount  of  work  also  has  been  done  at  its  head, 
near  the  mouth  of  Sunday  creek,  where  the  waters  to  supply  it  is 
being  taken  out  of  the  Yellowstone.  This  ditch,  when  completed, 
will  be  eleven  miles  in  length  and  carry  5,000  inches  of  water.  Less 
than  $5,000  will  be  required  to  complete  it,  as  the  heavv  cutting  for 
two  miles  and  more,  at  its  head,  is  already  finished,  the  balance  of  the 
work  being  shallow  and  comparatively  inexpensive. 

Howes,  Strevell  &  Miles  have  constructed  on  Otter  creek,  a  tribu- 
tary of  Tongue  river,  ditcnes  and  laterals  comprising  some  twelve 
miles,  with  three  quite  expensive  dams.  These  ditches  so  far  have 
been  used  chiefly  to  irrigate  pasiure  la»  ds  and  alfalfa. 

On  Little  Pumpkin  creek,  sixty  miles  south  of  Miles  City,  is  to  be 
found  one  of  the  oldest  and  possibly,  capacity  considered,  one  of  the 
most  inexpensive  ditches  in  our  county.  This  ditch  is  but  little  over 
a  mile  in  length,  but  carries  over  sixty  inches  of  water.  It  was  con- 
structed and  is  owned  and  operated  by  Mr.  James  Davidson,  whose 
green  pastures  and  meadows  in  summer  and  immense  hay  ricks  in 
winter  testify  to  the  richness  of  our  soil  and  inestimable  advantages 
of  irrigation. 

On  upper  Tongue  river  Mr.  Joseph  Scott  has  completed  a  ditch 
some  three  miles  in  length,  and  in  width  fifteen  feet  at  top  and  nine 
feet  at  bottom.  From  this  ditch  Mr.  Scott  irrigates  some  720  acres, 
principally  hay  land.  Its  capacity  is  sufficient  to  ultimately  supply 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  59 

water  for  nearly  two  thousand  acres  of  land  lying  under  it,  which  is 
entirely  barren  without  irrigation.  Its  cost  was  $3,500. 

Next  to  our  ditches,  in  line  of  irrigation  improvements,  we  may 
mention  vacuum  steam  pumps,  which  the  citizens  of  this  county  are 
pioneers  (in  Montana)  in  introducing,  as  a  means  of  raising  water  for 
irrigation  at  points  where  the  taking  out  of  ditches  seemed  imprac- 
ticable, but  where  small  bodies  of  good  land  can  be  found  and  water 
abundant.  Many  such  locations  are  found  along  the  Yellowstone  and 
upon  smaller  tributaries  of  various  streams. 

Two  years  »go  Bolles  &  Co.,  of  Rosebud,  placed  one  of  these 
pumps  and  operated  it  as  an  experiment.  The  volume  of  water  dis- 
charged was  so  great  and  the  expense  of  fuel  so  slight  that  no  less 
than  six  of  our  citizens,  among  whom  are  Messrs.  Scott,  Cree,  Bar- 
ringer,  Laney  and  others,  men  widely  known  in  this  State,  have  pur- 
chased and  put  in  position,  for  use  the  coming  summer,  pumps  of 
this  kind.  The  pump  used  by  Mr.  Cree  last  year  was  found  equal  to 
filling  a  ditch  with  capacity  to  thoroughly  irrigate  some  three  hun- 
dred acres.  Mr.  Barringer  has  in  place  for  use  this  season  a  mam- 
moth pump  calculated  to  supply  wrater  for  more  than  four  hundred 
acres  of  plowed  land,  which  is  known  to  require  vastly  more  water 
than  turf  or  meadow  ground.  There  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  the 
pump  will  prove  equal  to  the  task,  and  its  total  cost  will  not  exceed 
$1,800. 

Last,  but  not  least,  may  he  noticed  our  artesian  wells,  of  which  we 
have  now  in  use  over  thirty  in  the  vicinity  of  Miles  City  alone,  some 
of  which  flow  several  inches  of  water,  with  force  to  raise  water  fifteen 
to  forty  five  feet  from  the  surface.  The  lower  Yellowstone  valley, 
lying,  as  it  does,  at  the  comparatively  low  altitude  of  1,500  to  2,000  feet 
above  sea  level  (while  nearly  all  of  the  other  important  agricultural 
valleys  of  the  State  are  known  to  be  at  an  altitude  of  3,000  to  4,000 
feet),  is  peculiarly  favored  in  respect  to  the  easy  and  inexpensive  se- 
curing of  artesian  water.  One  well  two  miles  from  Miles  City  flows 
at  two  feet  from  the  surface  nearly  two  barrels  per  minute,  and  at  an 
elevation  of  forty  feet  from  the  surface  about  half  that  quantity.  This 
well  is  only  166  feet  in  depth,  with  a  bore  of  two  and  one-half  inches, 
and  cost  less  than  two  hundred  dollars. 

As  an  example  of  what  a  wonder  a  little  water  worketh,  a  circum- 
stance may  be  cited,  the  details  of  which  are  known  to  scores  of  our 
people.  A  Mr.  Hyde  purchased  a  two-acre  lot  near  Miles  City,  the 
improvements  consisting  of  a  two-room  house  and  an  artesian  well, 
the  flow  from  which  was  so  feeble  as  to  be  barely  adequate  to  irrigate 
during  the  dryest  seasons  one  to  one  and  a  half  acres.  The  price  paid 
was  $700.  Mr.  Hyde  commenced  gardening,  with  the  result  that  he 
realized  from  his  investment  by  reason  of  his  sales  of  garden  produce 
alone  never  less  than  $1,200,  and  for  some  seasons  as  high  as  $1,600. 

Recent  experiments  show  beyond  any  question  that  with  irrigation 


60  APPENDIX    SHOWING   THE    STATE    OF 

we  can  grow  alfalfa  most  abundantly  and  profitably.  In  California, 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  where  this  forage  plant  is  known  to 
flourish,  and  is  both  as  to  soil  and  to  climate  in  its  element,  the  writer 
has  observed,  it  can  under  best  conditions  be  cut  from  four  to  five 
times  per  year.  Here,  where,  prior  to  the  advent  of  our  canals,  it  was 
tried  and  declared  a  failure,  we  now  cut  three  crops  during  a  single 
season,  and  the  yield  in  tons  per  acre  is  equal  to  the  largest  known 
elsewhere. 

The  same  is  true  respecting  Indian  corn,  heretofore  considered  an 
impossible  crop  in  Montana  and  throughout  the  higher  altitudes.  In 
the  mountainous  sections  extending  through  all  of  the  central  and 
western  portion  of  the  State  it  must  remain  impossible  of  production. 
Here,  however,  in  the  Yellowstone,  Powder,  Tongue  and  Little  Mis- 
souri valleys,  and  particularly  the  lower  Yellowstone,  Indian  corn  as 
fine  and  maturing  as  early  as  Iowa  or  Missouri  may  be  and  is  being 
grown. 

Custer  County's  exhibit  of  corn  and  tobacco  at  the  State  Fair  last 
August  (about  the  8th  to  I2th)  was  a  revelation  to  many,  including 
old  Montanians,  who  were  loth  to  believe  that  corn  and  tobacco  show- 
ing a  growth  of  twelve  feet  and  more  of  stalk,  and  the  former  bearing 
mature  ears  of  corn  with  eighteen  and  twenty  rows  of  kernels  around 
the  cob,  were  matured  in  Montana  at  that  date,  if  at  all. 

It  is  a  fact  well  known  in  Eastern  Montana  thrit  Custer  County 
strawberries  are  not  only  beyond  comparison  as  to  quality,  but  that 
they  come  to  maturity  and  are  out  of  the  market  before  the  same  fruit 
from  Bozeman  and  some  other  sections  are  ready  for  market. 

It  ha*  been  said  of  Eastern  Montana  that  "it  is  the  coldest  and 
hottest  country  on  the  globe,"  and  to  whatever  of  truth  there  may  be 
in  this  observation  to  a  considerable  degree  doubtless  our  success  in 
growing  corn,  tomatoes,  tobacco,  small  fruits,  etc.,  is  due. 

A  careful  observer  cannot  fail  to  note  that  in  this  arid,  rainless, 
cloudless  region,  spring  comes  earlier,  and  the  fructifying  influences 
of  the  sun  are  much  earlier  realized  than  in  many  localities  farther 
i-outh. 

We  have  very  little  snow,  and  as  a  rule  it  rarely  stays  to  the  first 
of  March.  The  Yellowstone,  Powder,  Rosebud  and  Big  Horn  rivers, 
the  writer  has  observed  for  more  than  a  dozen  years,  have  broken  up 
and  cleared  of  ice  one,  two  or  more  weeks  prior  to  the  breaking  up  of 
the  Missouri,  or  even  the  Mississippi  opposite  Minnesota  and  Iowa. 

There  is  yet  unappropriated  abundance  of  water  in  the  Yellow- 
stone and  Powder  rivers.  The  fall  of  these  streams  is  everywhere 
sufficient  to  make  construction  of  ditches  practicable.  Only  the  great 
outlay  necessary  has  thus  far  deterred  our  inhabitants  and  the  owners 
of  arable  lands  in  securing  these  waters.  That  there  is  a  sort  of  wave 
of  popular  feeling  throughout  Montana,  as  well  as  her  sister  arid 
states,  must  unquestionably  lead  speedily  and  surely  to  the  solving  of 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  6l 

the  great  problem.  Let  it  be  said  in  conclusion  that  none  can  feel 
more  interest,  none  take  more  just  pride  in  doing  her  whole  duty  in 
helping  the  popular  movement,  none  hope  for  greater  benefits  than 
the  citizens  of  Custer  County.  J.  W.  STREVELL. 


CHOTEAU  COUNTY. 

I  find  the  total  number  of  ditches  in  the  southwestern  portion  of 
Choteau  County  to  be  thirty-two,  with  a  length  of  sixty-five  miles, 
and  covering  an  area  of  about  30,180  acres.  I  find  the  reservoir  sys- 
tem is  only  in  its  initiative  at  present,  there  being  only  five  or  six  so 
far  established,  the  smallest  covering  not  more  than  half  an  acre,  and 
the  largest  covering  about  forty  acres,  with  an  average  depth  of  eight 
feet  of  water.  I  also  find  that  all  available  water  for  irrigation  (ex- 
cept the  waters  of  the  Missouri)  have  been  appropriated  by  indi- 
viduals and  corporations  during  the  irrigation  season,  and  that  in 
order  to  reclaim  and  bring  under  profitable  cultivation  all  or  any  por- 
tion of  the  land  now  arid  and  uncultivated  it  will  be  necessary  to 
resort  to  the  reservoir  system  in  order  to  store  the  waters  when  not 
used  by  prior  claimants.  J.  F.  PATTERSON. 


CASCADE  COUNTY. 

Cascade  County  contains  about  3,000  square  miles,  mostly  valley 
and  bench  lands  of  an  average  elevation  of  about  3,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  It  is  bounded  by  the  Highwood  and  Belt  mountains 
on  the  east,  the  Belt  and  Birdtail  ranges  on  the  south,  with  prairie 
lands  on  the  north  and  west.  It  is  watered  by  the  Belt  and  Smith 
rivers  and  their  branches,  Willow  and  Otter  creeks,  Hound,  Stickney, 
Wegner,  Sand  Coulee  and  Box  Elder  creeks  emptying  directly  or  indi- 
rectly into  the  Missouri  river  from  the  south.  The  Dearborn  and  Sun 
rivers  and  Muddy  creek  flow  into  it  from  the  north  and  west  side  of  the 
river.  The  Missouri  river  runs  for  about  ninety  miles  in  a  northerly 
direction  through  the  county.  It  conveys  about  double  the  amount 
of  water  that  the  Mississippi  does  at  St.  Paul. 

At  the  falls  of  the  Missouri  at  Great  Falls  there  is  267,000  horse 
power  developed  and  undeveloped,  or  an  amount  equal  to  all  tn,e 
other  water  power  in  the  United  States  with  that  of  Niagara  added. 
This  enormous  power  is  already  partly  used  in  the  great  smelting 
and  manufacturing  plants  constructed  there,  and  could  be  used  in 
raising  the  great  volume  of  water  of  the  Missouri  and  irrigating  a 


62  APPENDIX    SHOWING   THE    STATE    OF 

large  portion  of  Cascade,  Choteau  and  Dawson  counties.  A  large 
portion  of  the  soil,  perhaps  from  one-half  to  two-thirds,  is  a  sandy 
loam  extending  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the  Belt  mountains.  From 
this  vast  acreage  in  the  driest  seasons  we  have  produced  from  ten  to 
twenty  bushels  of  wheat  and  thirty  to  forty  bushels  of  oats  per  acre 
without  irrigation,  amounts  which  would  be  trebled  by  irrigation. 
Last  season  the  yield  was  from  thirty  to  forty  bushels  of  wheat, 
seventy-five  to  one  hundred  bushels  of  oats,  and  250  to  300  bushels  of 
potatoes  without  irrigation.  All  this  land  would,  however,  be  im- 
proved by  irrigation. 

The  canals  already  constructed  here  have  cost  about  $500,000,  and 
including  laterals  and  small  ditches  would  make  about  400  to  500 
miles.  The  main  canal  of  the  Cascade  Land  Company,  taken  out  of 
the  North  Fork  of  the  Sun  River  and  tributaries  of  the  Teton,  is 
about  sixty-five  miles  in  length  and  twelve  to  sixteen  feet  in  width. 
It  carries  about  3,000  inches  of  water  and  will  irrigate  3,000  acres  of 
land.  Benton  lake,  three  miles  by  seven  miles  in  extent,  is  used  as  a 
reservoir.  During  the  year  the  company  has  cut  about  $15,000  or 
$20,000  worth  of  hay,  although  their  system  is  not  yet  completed. 
In  the  length  of  the  canal  the  lateral  ditches  are  not  counted.  The 
Sun  River  ditch  has  been  in  operation  many  years.  It  is  ten  to 
twelve  miles  long  and  cost  about  $2,000  a  mile.  It  carries  about  3,000 
inches  of  water  and  will  irrigate  3,000  acres  of  land  On  one  ranch 
covered  by  this  ditch  the  farming  profits  this  year  were  over  $7,000. 
The  Crown  Butte  canal  is  twenty-six  miles  in  length  and  sixteen  feet 
in  width,  and  cost  about  $3,000  a  mile.  It  carries  about  40,000  inches 
of  water.  The  canal  irrigates  an  immense  body  of  land  between  the 
Sun  river  and  the  Missouri  Wilson  and  Thompson  are  the  owners 
of  a  system  of  reservoirs  and  canals  at  a  point  near  the  termination  of 
the  Crown  Butte  canal.  The  system  comprises  four  immense  reser- 
voir and  some  twenty-four  miles  of  canals,  covering  thousands  of 
acres  of  land  and  representing  an  investment  of  $30,000.  The  Chest- 
nut Valley  ditch  takes  the  waters  of  the  Missouri  at  Ila'f  Breed 
rapids.  It  is  twelve  miles  in  length  and  carries  about  15,000  inches  of 
water.  The  Belt  C':eek  ditch  is  five  miles  in  length  and  waters  all 
land  on  the  Lower  Belt.  Another  ditch  on  Willow  creek  is  from  five 
to  seven  miles  in  length  There  are  many  ditches  from  one-half 
mile  to  one  mile  in  length  on  Belt,  Willow,  Cora,  Otter,  Sand  Coulee, 
Deep  and  Wegner  creeks  and  in  other  localities,  the  number  of 
which  it  is  impossible  to  compute.  Two  canals  have  been  surveyed 
on  Lower  Sun  river  from  Priest  rapids.  Each  one  will  be  twelve 
miles  in  length  and  run  on  each  side  of  the  river.  Surveys  were 
made  for  similarly  located  canals  as  long  ago  as  1876  at  the  time  the 
Missour  River  Navigation  company  was  formed.  On  Hound  creek 
and  Smith  river  another  large  canal  is  projected  and  to  be  built  this 
spring  which  will  be  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  in  length  and 
irrigate  lands  along  the  Smith  river  and  east  of  the  Missouri  river. 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  63 

DEER  LODGE  COUNTY. 

Deer  Lodge  County  is  a  mountainous  district  intersected  by  the 
Deer  Lodge,  Flint  Creek,  Nevada  Creek  and  Big  Blackfoot  valleys, 
which  contain  nearly  all  of  the  agricultural  land  in  the  county.  These 
valleys  are  traversed  lengthwise  by  streams  bearing  their  names. 
This  section  constitutes  the  watershed  of  the  Clark's  Fork  of  the 
Columbia  river.  The  valleys  are  drained  latterly  by  a  large  number 
of  small  streams,  the  waters  of  which  have  all  been  appropriated  by 
the  settlers  along  the  same.  There  are  in  the  county  460  ditches, 
conveying  the  water  an  aggregate  distance  of  about  750  miles,  or  an 
average  of  less  than  two  miles  each,  and  having  a  carrying  capacity 
of  about  85,000  miner's  inches  and  irrigating  about  95,000  acres. 
During  the  high  water  in  June  of  an  average  water  season  there  is  a 
supplv  of  water  more  than  sufficient  to  fill  the  ditches  already  con- 
structed, but  during  dry  seasons,  such  as  1889  and  1890,  and  all  sea- 
sons after  the  high  water  time,  there  is  not  enough  in  the  natural 
flow  of  the  streams  to  supply  the  present  demand.  There  being 
about  350,000  acres  of  land  susceptable  of  irrigation  in  the  county,  it 
is  apparent  that  some  artificial  means  must  be  u«ed  to  make  these 
lands  available  for  settlement.  It  is  also  apparent  that  if  the  waters 
which  are  constantly  flowing  ou?  of  the  county  during  the  hi^h  water 
season  and  during  the  time  that  they  are  not  used  in  the  ditches 
could  be  utilized  there  would  be  plenty  for  all  future  demands. 
There  are  at  the  sources  of  nearly  all  of  the  streams  in  the  county, 
basins  and  natural  lakes  varying  from  one-fourth  of  a  mile  to  several 
square  miles  in  extent,  which  might  be  readily  turned  into  reservoirs 
for  the  storage  of  the  surplus  water.  This  would  not  be  altogether  an 
experiment.  The  Rock  Creek  Ditch  company,  operating  the  placer 
mines  at  Pioneer,  constructed  a  reservoir  several  years  ago  by  drift- 
ing in  and  tapping  the  Rock  Creek  lake  fifteen  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  water.  Then  a  dam  fourteen  feet  high  was  built  across  the 
outlet  to  retain  the  waste  water,  thus  giving  them  a  body  of  water 
twenty-nine  feet  deep,  one  mile  long  and  one-half  mile  wide,  from 
which  a  good  head  of  water  is  drawn.  Nature  has  furnished  us  with 
water  in  abundance;  it  remains  for  capital  and  muscle  to  utilize  it  so 
that  every  acre  of  the  land  in  this  county  may  be  reclaimed. 

C.  K~  HARDENBROOK. 


DAWSON  COUNTY. 

Dawson  County  is  the  northeastern  county  of  the  State,  is  about 
155  miles  from  north  to  south  and  175  miles  from  east  to  west;  an 
area  of  26,820  square  miles,  or  a  little  over  seventeen  millions  of 
acres.  A  large  part  of  this  vast  area  consists  of  rolling  uplands,  cov- 


64  APPENDIX    SHOWING    THE    STATE    OF 

ered  with  bunch  and  buffalo  grasses,  suitable  for  grazing  of  cattle, 
horses  and  sheep,  and  which  are  too  high  above  the  water  courses  to 
be  available  for  the  purposes  of  irrigation. 

The  county  is  traversed  from  west  to  east  for  nearly  two-hundred 
miles  by  the  valley  of  the  Missouri  river,  which  divides  the  county 
into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  and  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
the  Yellowstone,  flowing  in  a  northeasterly  course,  runs  for  some- 
thing over  a  hundred  miles  within  our  borders.  Branches  of  these 
two  large  rivers  flow  into  them  both  on  the  north  and  south,  and  in 
the  spring  and  early  summer  pour  out  vast  quantities  of  water  which 
they  drain  from  the  broken  and  rolling  country  forming  the  divides 
between  the  great  rivers. 

It  is  in  the  broad'valleys  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri  rivers, 
and  on  the  bottoms  lying  along  the  smaller  streams,  that  are  found 
the  lands  which,  when  irrigated  and  made  fertile  by  the  water  now 
flowing  to  waste  by  them,  will  make  eastern  Montana  the  garden  of 
the  whole  northwest. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  but  very  little  done  in  Dawson 
County  in  the  line  of  irrigation;  a  few  small  private  ditches,  convey- 
ing water  to  a  few  hundred  acres  of  land  is  all  that  can  be  called,  by 
any  stretch  of  the  imagination,  irrigation.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
our  best  farming  lands  are  not  situated  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  easily 
and  cheaply  irrigated  by  small  and  inexpensive  ditches  taken  from 
mountain  streams,  as  in  some  other  counties  of  the  State,  where  every 
man  can  own  his  own  ditch  or  a  few  farmers  can  club  together  and 
•construct  one  suited  to  their  needs  and  for  their  own  use. 

But  in  Dawson  County,  more  than  in  any  other  locality  in  the 
State,  are  found  opportuities  for  irrigation  on  a  large  scale;  and 
when  once  the  eyes  of  capital  can  be  opened  to  the  conditions  here 
-existing  for  profitable  investments  we  look  for  an  era  of  prosperity 
unequaled  by  any  country  that  is  not  built  up  upon  the  substantial 
foundation  of  an  agricultural  population. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Missouri  alone  can  be  found  at  a  low  estimate 
one-half  a  million  acres  of  good  agricultural  land  which  can  be  irri- 
gated by  means  of  canals  taken  from  the  river,  and  there  is  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year  abundance  of  water  for  such  a  purpose. 

Tributary  to  the  Missouri  are  the  Milk,  Poplar,  Muscleshell,  Big 
Dry  and  Big  Muddy  rivers,  besides  innumerable  smaller  streams, 
which  by  a  system  of  storage  reservoirs  can  be  used  to  irrigate  the 
lands  along  their  borders.  The  valley  of  the  Milk  river  is  just  now, 
because  of  the  settlement  of  that  part  of  the  county  by  the  building 
•of  the  Great  Northern  railway,  and  the  attention  which  has  been 
directed  to  that  locality  by  the  advertisement  of  that  railroad,  looked 
upon  as  a  suitable  place  for  a  successful  attempt  at  irrigating  a  large 
body  of  land. 

But  it  is  in  the  south  part  of  the  county,  on  the  borders  of  the  Yel- 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  65 

lowstone  river,  that  we  look  for  the  greatest  practical  results  in  the 
near  future.  -This  valley,  which  has  by  some  one  been  called  the 
future  "Mohawk  Valley  of  Montana,"  is,  in  Dawson  county,  about 
1 20  miles  in  length  and  on  an  average  from  four  to  five  miles  in 
width  from  the  river  to  the  foothills,  a  prairie  country  unrivaled  in  its 
fertility  by  any  on  earth.  There  is  a  heavy  fall  in  the  river  for  the 
whole  distance,  and  by  a  system  of  canals,  easy  of  construction,  the 
whole  valley  can  be  brought  into  cultivation. 

A  movement  is  now  on  foot  for  the  organization  of  a  stock  com- 
pany at  Glendive,  the  county  seat,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a 
ditch  to  be  taken  from  the  Yellowstone  river,  on  the  north  side  about 
thirty  miles  above  Glendive,  which  will  irrigate  about  100,000  acres, 
known  as  Lone  Horse  prairie.  The  land  in  this  locality  is  all  sur- 
veyed, is  one-half  unclaimed  government  land,  which  is  open  for  set- 
tlement, and  the  other  half  is  covered  by  the  Northern  ^Pacific 
railroad  company's  land  grant.  The  railroad  company  has  expressed 
a  willingness  to  give  an  irrigation  company  all  assistance  in  their 
power  for  the  furtherance  of  such  an  undertaking,  and  if  pushed  with 
energy  it  will  doubtless  prove  a  success. 

Below  Glendive,  from  that  town  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone 
river,  are  many  places  where  canals  can  and  will  in  the  not  distant 
future  be  constructed,  which  will  reclaim  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
acres  which  are  now  only  fit  for  grazing. 

The  lower  Yellowstone  valley  has  for  the  past  ten  or  twelve  years, 
since  the  first  coming  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  and  the  wave 
of  immigration  following  in  its  wake,  been  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
most  favorable  localities  for  settlement,  and  many  attempts  have  been 
made  by  farmers  to  locate  and  try  to  build  up  homes  and  make  a 
living.  But  it  is  only  in  a  few  favorable  places  that  they  have  been 
successful;  and  most  of  them  have  been  compelled  to  leave  what 
improvements  they  have  made  and  seek  homes  where  the}'  can  raise 
crops  with  greater  certainty. 

It  is  not  claimed  for  the  Yellowstone  valley  that  it  is  a  "granger's 
paradise,"  as  some  parts  of  Montana  are  claimed  to  be;  but  when  such 
a  system  of  irrigation  is  adopted,  as  it  is  sure  to  be  in  a  few  years,  the 
far  famed  Gallatin  must  look  to  its  laurels. 

Besides  the  lands  above  mentioned,  which  can  be  irrigated  by 
means  of  ditches  taken  from  the  rivers  and  creeks,  there  are  many 
thousands  of  acres  of  valuable  agricultural  lands  which,  if  as  is  gen- 
erally conceded  we  are  in  an  artesian  basin,  can  be  watered  by  arte- 
sian wells.  If  this  proves  to  be  the  truth,  and  such  irrigation  proves 
to  be  practicable  and  comparatively  inexpensive,  the  quantity  of 
arable  land  will  be  of  enormous  extent,  as  there  are  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  as  yet  unsurveyed  lands  lying  on  all  the  high  benches 
which  are  equal  if  not  superior  to  the  bottoms  and  low  bench  lands  in 
their  capacity  for  producing  crops. 


66  APPENDIX    SHOWING    THE    STATE    OF 

It  is  very  difficult  to  estimate  the  amount  of  lands  in  Dawson 
County  which  are  located  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  susceptible  of  irri- 
gation, for  the  reason  that  a  very  large  portion  of  the  county  remains 
unsurveyed,  and  at  the  best  any  estimate  would  be  simply  '"guess 
work."  However,  to  leave  a  large  amount  of  allowance  for  "bad 
lands,"  the  following  estimate  will  not,  we  think,  be  any  too  large: 
Lands  in  the  Missouri  valley  which  can  be  watered  from  the  river  by 
means  of  canals,  500,000  acres;  bottom  lands  along  the  tributaries  of 
the  Missouri,  which  can  be  watered  by  a  combined  system  of  ditches 
and  storage  reservoirs,  2,000,000  acres ;  lands  in  the  Yellowstone  Val- 
ley which  can  be  irrigated  by  ditches  from  the  river,  250,000  acres; 
bench  lands  which  can  only  be  irrigated  by  wells,  either  artesian  or 
for  pumping,  5,000,000  acres;  total,  7,750,000. 

We  think  that  from  seven  to  eight  millions  of  acres  is  a  reasonable 
estimate  of  the  amount  of  land  in  Dawson  County  which  can  be  irri- 
gated and  made  fertile  as  soon  as  the  time  comes  when  all  this  will  be 
needed  for  settlement. 

By  what  we  have  shown  above  it  will  be  seen  that,  although  Daw- 
son  cannot  boast  the  rich  mineral  resources  which  are  the  birthright 
of  many  of  her  sister  counties,  still  in  the  wealth  of  resource  which 
underlies  every  agricultural  section  of  the  world  she  is  rich  in  latent 
wealth;  and  when  the  time  comes,  as  it  surely  will,  that  these  mil- 
lions of  acres  are  sending  to  less  favored  parts  of  the  State  their  pro- 
ducts in  return  for  the  gold  and  silver  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  and 
Silver  Bow,  and  the  other  mountain  counties,  then  and  not  till  then 
will  Montana  occupy  the  high  place  she  is  destined  to  hold  in  the 
sisterhood  of  states. 


FERGUS  COUNTY. 

Fergus  County  has  74,000  acres  of  land  that  is  under  ditch.  The 
main  ditches  covering  this  area  are  242  miles  in  length,  the  building 
of  which  has  cost  $160  per  mile,  which  would  make  the  total  cost  of 
these  ditcher  $38,400,  being  a  fraction  over  fifty  cents  per  acre.  The 
lands  that  these  ditches  cover  are  situated  along  the  bottom  land  or 
valleys  of  streams.  There  are  17,000  acres  taken  up  that  is  not  yet 
irrigated,  and  1,000,000  acres  of  irrigable  land  not  yet  taken  that 
could  be  made  productive  by  irrigation.  The  balance  of  the  lands  of 
the  county  are  hilly  and  mountainous,  and  are  only  fit  for  grazing. 
The  principal  streams  within  the  county  are  Judith  river,  Wolf  creekr 
Big  Spring  and  Flat  Willow.  The  waters  of  these  streams  are 
already  appropriated,  with  the  exception  of  the  overflow  in  high 
water  times  or  such  times  of  the  year  as  it  is  not  used  for  irrigation. 

The  government  has  reserved  two  sites  tor  reservoirs  on  the 
Judith  river,  which  are  situated  in  the  right  place  to  cover  large 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  67 

tracts  of  land  not  yet  irrigated,  but  are  impracticable  for  two  reasons: 
First,  they  would  be  dangerous  to  the  lives  of  the  people  living  along 
the  streams  below  where  these  reservoirs  are  situated.  Second, 
reserving  water  in  the  beds  of  streams  is  not  far-reaching  enough  in 
comparison  to  their  cost  of  building.  The  beds  of  streams  generally 
are  narrow  and  with  a  heavy  grade  of  fall.  The  water  stored  would 
be  limited  to  a  small  fraction  of  the  actual  overflow  in  high  water 
time.  But  this  overflow  could  be  carried  out  in  canals  and  stored  in 
outside  basins,  of  which  there  are  quite  a  number  to  be  found  in  Fer- 
gus County.  JAMES  ETTIEN. 


GALLATIN    COUNTY. 

The  mileage  of  private  farm  ditches  in  the  Gallatin  valley,  i.  e.,  the 
cultivable  portion  of  Gallatin  County,  Mont.,  it  would  be  exceedingly 
difficult  to  give.  Some  attempt,  however,  must  be  made  in  order 
that  a  stranger  to  the  situation  may  form  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of 
the  extent  of  irrigation  in  this  locality. 

Hundreds  of  miles  of  private  farm  ditches  exist;  these  come  out 
of  some  twenty  or  more  creeks  and  streams,  including  the  East  Gal- 
latin river — a  small  feeder  to  the  West  Gallatin,  which  latter  is  a 
strong  mountain  stream  of  heavy  fall  to  the  mile,  and  of  large 
capacity  of  flowage,  which  I  will  state  later  on;  so  lhat  portions  of 
more  than  a  dozen  townships  are  supplied,  more  or  less,  with  irriga- 
tion facilities,  and  some  thoroughly.  This  valley,  so  far  as  the  culti- 
vable area  is  concerned,  may  be  roughly  said  to  be  four  townships 
wide  by  five  townships  long,  allowing  great  sinuosity  on  the  marginal 
exteriors,  mainly  sloping  with  undulations  from  south  to  north,  with 
counter  slopes  from  the  circumference;  everywhere  surrounded  by 
mountainous  country,  which  is  indented  with  deep  cuts  or  canyons 
on  the  easterly  and  southerly  borders,  from  which  issue  permanently 
flowing  streams.  From  all  these  streams  except  the  West  Gallatin 
river  every  drop  of  water  is  conducted  into  small  and  large  private 
farm  ditches,  and  utilized  for  irrigation.  From  the  West  Gallatin 
river,  also,  many  di'ches  are  taken  for  farm  use;  from  this  river 
alone  are  taken  out  the  three  large  canals  owned  by  incorporated 
companies,  named  in  order  of  time  of  construction,  the  Gallatin  Canal 
Company,  the  West  Gallatin  Irrigation  Company,  and  the  Excelsior 
Canal  Company. 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  water  of  this  river  runs  to  waste;  it  is 
many  times  in  its  flowage  the  volume  of  all  the  water  taken  into  its 
tapping  ditches. 

There  are  no  reservoirs  of  water  in  this  valley,  from  which  con- 
served waters  are  drawn.  Up  the  Bozeman  canyon  there  is  Mj  ^H«v 
lake,  some  fourteen  miles  from  Bozeman,  some  2,000  feet  in  he'.jht 


68  APPENDIX    SHOWING   THE    STATE    OF 

above  this  valley,  where  a  dam  twenty-two  feet  high  is  being  built 
now  to  hold  back  water,  to  be  run  down  the  natural  channel  of  great 
and  rapid  fall,  and  then  to  be  drawn  off  into  ditches  for  foothill  and 
bench-land  irrigation.  The  capacity  of  this  pond  may  be  understood 
from  its  size,  about  one  mile  long  by  one-half  mile  wide,  and  great 
depth  may  be  secured. 

The  only  land  companies  are  the  Manhattan  Malting  Company 
and  the  We;>t  Gallatin  Irrigation  Company,  the  latter  constructing  a 
large  canal  to  supply  water  to  its  own  lands,  and  grantees  of  its  land, 
and  still  owning  some  25,000  acres;  the  former  owning  160  acres  in 
townsite  at  Manhattan  and  some  10,000  acres  for  its  own  farming 
purposes,  mainly  for  the  cultivation  of  barley. 

fgZ^j/l'  The  Gallatin  Canal  Company's  ditch  is  twenty  miles  long;  cost  said 
N>         to  be  about  $60,000;    built  about  three  years  ago;    taken  out  of  the 

I  east  side  of  the  West  Gallatin  river,  well  up  to  the  canyon;  carries 
about  8,000  inches,  it  is  said;  built  with  inexpensive  headgate  and 

l_     jwing  sieve  dam  of  no  great  cost. 

^.  The  Excelsior  Canal  Company's  ditch  is  twelve  miles  long;  built  in 
1890-91 ;  cost  about-  $40,000,  as  estimated,  and  built  by  syndicate  of 
farm  owners  under  it,  supplying  water  to  its  stockholders  only;  car- 
ries about  8,000  inches,  it  is  stated;  built  with  slight  structure  of  head- 
gate,  and  no  dam. 

/____— —  The  largest  and  most  costly  canal  is  that  of  the  West  Gallatin  Irri- 
gation Company,  constructed  1890-91,  and  at  present  some  twenty- 
four  miles  in  length,  on  a  high  line  to  cover  bench  lands;  taken  out 
of  the  west  side  of  the  West  Gallatin  river;  still  in  process  of  exten- 
sion in  length. 

/Location. — The  canal  is  taken  out  of  the  West  Gallatin  river 
near  the  centre  of  Sec.  28  38  4E.,  Montana,  and  runs  through  sec- 
tions 28,  21,  16,  9  and  4  in  38  4E.,  and  through  sections  23,  33,  27,  28, 
21,  22,  16,  17,  20,  19  and  18  in  28  4E.,  ending  near  the  centre  of  8ec. 
13,  1 8  4E.,  about  twenty-four  miles  from  its  head.  A  plat  and  profile 
of  the  canal  show  it  to  be  very  crooked,  and  the  ground  is  more  tor- 
tuous than  the  plat,  because  there  are  many  short  and  sharp  turns 
that  could' not  be  shown  on  a  plat  of  small  scale.  This  was  necessary 
in  following  the  contour  of  such  a  rough  and  broken  country  as  most 
of  the  canal  is  built  over,  which  is  a  succession  of  long  ridges  and 
deep  gulches,  pointing  in  a  general  direction  toward  the  northwest. 

Dimensions. — Canal  is  finished  to  twenty-four  miles.  The  first 
1,300  feet  from  the  head  is  twenty-four  feet  on  the  bottom,  and  from 
there  to  the  twenty-third  mile  k  narrowed  to  fourteen  feet  on  the 
bottom,  but  widens  in  many  places  to  sixteen  and  eighteen  feet.  The 
narrowest  place  on  the  bottom  anywhere  in  the  whole  twenty  and  a 
half  miles  is  full  fourteen  feet,  twenty-three  and  a  quarter  miles  from 
the  head,  and  the  next  three  miles  is  wider  and  shallower,  but  is  in- 
tended to  carry  the  same  amount  of  water  as  the  rest  of  the  ditch. 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  69 

Grade.— Is  constructed  on  a  fall  of  6-100  to  100  feet,  or  three  feet 
to  a  mile,  except  the  first  1,300  feet  below  the  head  has  a  fall  of  two 
and  a  half  feet  in  the  1,300  feet,  or  over  ten  feet  to  a  mile. 

Slopes. — Are  one  to  one,  except  in  solid  rock,  where  it  is  one-half 
to  one. 

Banks. — Are  from  five  to  eight  feet  high  above  the  bottom  of  the 
canal,  and  are  from  twenty-five  to  forty-five  feet  wide  at  their  base, 
solid  and  firm,  and  slope  evenly  on  both  sides.  All  the  earth  and 
rock  from  excavating  the  canal  is  placed  on  the  lower  side  (on  the 
north  and  east),  as  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  canal  is  built  on 
side  hills. 

Headgate.— Is  twenty-four  feet  wide  in  the  clear,  with  five  gates, 
built  of  timber  10x12  and  8x12,  well  braced  and  bolted,  and  most 
thoroughlv  built  throughout.  The  bottom  of  the  head-gate  being 
four  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  river  at  the  present  low  state  of 
water,  which,  with  the  two  and  a  half  foot  fall  'n  the  first  1,300  feet, 
makes  the  canal  capable  of  receiving  water  fully  five  feet  deep  in  it 
should  it  ever  be  required.  There  is  no  dam. 

Flumes. — Are  all  built  of  heavy  square  and  two-inch  plank,  in  the 
most  thorough  manner. 

Tunnel. — In  the  ninth  mile  from  the  head  is  a  tunnel,  241  feet  in 
length,  and  is  five  and  a  half  feet  d^^Bby  twelve  feet  wide,  with  a 
fall  of  60-100  feet  to  loofeet;  timberWJra  little  at  each  end,  balance 
solid  rock;  highest  point  of  ground  aboye  bottom  of  tunnel  is  forty- 
seven  feet;  distance  around  the  hill  or  spur  from  upper  end  of  tunnel 
to  its  lower  end  is  4.750  feet,  the  tunnel  making  a  saving  of  distance 
of  4,509  feet. 

The  canal  will  carry  water  four  feet  deep,  and  could  very  easily  be 
made  to  carry  four  and  a  half  feel.  In  this  canai,  fourteen  feet  wide  on 
the  bottom,  slope  one  to  one,  water  four  feet  deep,  with  its  grade  of 
three  feet  fall  to  the  mile,  will  flow  10,695  miners'  inches  of  water, 
from  which  will  have  to  be  deducted  a  reasonable  per  cent,  for  seep- 
age and  evaporation. 

Remarks. — This  canal  will  carry  3,510  more  miners'  inches  of 
water  than  on-  twelve  feet  wide  on  the  bottom,  slope  of  one  to  one, 
water  three  and  one-half  feet  deep,  grade  two  and  one-half  feet  to 
the  mile. 

The  most  of  the  country  over  which  it  is  built  is  very  rough  and 
broken,  its  location  coming  on  steep  side  hills  and  around  and  over 
deep  gulches.  The  grade  is  maintained  even,  and  all  slopes  made  as 
smooth  as  possible  with  pick  and  shovel,  and  no  rock  or  coarse  gravel 
left  in  the  bottom,  thus  reducing  the  friction  of  the  water  on  the 
Avetted  perimeter  of  the  canal  to  the  lowest  minimum,  thereby 
reducing  the  loss  from  that  cause  and  increasing  the  flow  of  water. 

The  canal  from  end  to  end  in  all  particulars  is  most  thoroughly 
and  honestly  built,  showing  in  every  foot  of  its  length  that  it  -was 


\ 


7O  APPENDIX    SHOWING   THE    STATE    OF 

made  with  the  view  of  it  being  permanent  and  lasting,  and  to  carry 
a  large  volume  of  water.  The  cost  of  this  canal  so  far  is  about 
$90,000. 

In  this  connection  it  is  not  important  to  state  the  area  cultivated 
under  these  canals  separately.  Under  the  two  first  named  canals  the 
total  capacity  of  the  ditches  is  required  for  the  ground  under  them, 
and  such  land  is  already  mostly  in  cultivation;  under  the  last-named 
ditch  the  lands  are  mainly  new  and  unbroken,  and  are  just  brought 
into  such  relation  to  water  as  to  be  cultivable.  There  lie  under  this 
ditch,  as  it  may  be  extended,  sixty  thousand  acres,  being  more  than 
the  ditch  has  capacity  to  supply  with  water. 

Wit!\  caution  held  out  that  an  estimate  must  be  considered  some- 
thing of  a  guess,  I  should  say  that  under  great  and  little  ditches  there 
are  about  50,000  acres  in  cultivation,  under  crops  in  one  year,  and 
in  this  I  am  not  counting  the  fallow  ground  of  that  year. 

The  Auditor's  report  for  Montana  for  1890  gives  the  number  of 
ranches  in  Gallatin  County  at  460,  and  the  acreage  in  ranches  in  Gal- 
latin  County  as  127,684  acres,  and  the  ranches  fenced  as  115,374  acres. 
No  scrutiny  is  made  in  these  returns  into  the  number  of  acres 
plowed.  Ufce  acreage  and  number  of  ranches  have  increased  consid- 
erably since  such  figures  wereniade  up,  and  these  figures  are  returns 
for  assessment  purposes  onU^^H  include  railroad  lands  cultivated  or 
uncultivated  in  the  county.  ^Wrch  of  such  lands  may  not  be  culti- 
vated. No  such  return  is  an  index  of  what  is  cultivated  area;  let  us 
go,  therefore,  to  crop  returns.  The  crop  returns  in  the  Auditor's  re- 
port are  not  to  be  relied  upon  as  coming  up  to  the  magnitude  of  area 
or  yield  per  acre.  We  know  individually  of  one  tract  of  1,200  acres 
now  in  cultivation,  not  embraced  in  1890  year  returns;  we  know  of 
several  tracts  of  100  acres  and  upward,  brought  recently  under  the 
plow,  not  in  such  estimates.  Fifty  thousand  acres  arc  assumed  as 
proximately  the  area  in  cultivation  over  and  above  what  is  fallow, 
i.  e.,  it  is  approximately  the  area  cropped  in  a  year.  Taking  the  crops 
and  hay  and  the  vegetable  and  small  fruit  crops,  and  we  may  assume 
a  yield  of  $1,250,000  in  value.  There  are  thirty-five  threshing  ma- 
chines here.  These  may  be  estimated  as  threshing  60,000  bushels 
each,  on  the  average.  This  gives  2,100,000  bushels. 

The  average  price  of  the  three  staples  I  place  at  an  assumed  figure, 
which  1  am  advised  is  fair,  and  from  this  I  get  $1,250,000  as  a  year's 
yield  in  value. 

These  figures  are  less  than  some  stated  statistics[in  advertisements 
of  this  famous  valley. 

To  mark  on  a  map  all  the  ditches  would  be  to  run  out  tc  rtuous 
lines  from  every  creek  and  river  as  thick  as  branches  and  their  twigs 
from  the  main  stem  of  a  tree.  A  great  fertile  expanse,  gridironed 
with  circumfluent  lines  of  ditches,  bright  and  golden  in  harvest  time 
with  grain,  and  hay  meadows  in  green  for  relief,  and  after  harvest 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  71 

with  stubble  as  a  plush  carpet  is  with  its  short,  upreared  filaments,  is 
not  an  overdrawn  picture  of  this  valley. 

Barley  is  great  in  yield  and  supreme  in  quality  here;  oats  triumph 
in  weight  and  measure  to  the  acre,  and  wheat  yield  is  as  high  in  aver- 
age as  in  any  known  region.  A  little  table  of  crop  reports  of  1891, 
printed  without  selection  or  partiality,  just  as  made  by  chance  returns 
from  ranchers  for  neighborhood  use,  is  printed  by  the  Bozeman  Avant 
Courier. 

You  ask  for  the  price  of  water.  Water  is  not  retailed  here,  but  the 
price  as  understood  by  the  canal  companies  is  $2  per  statutory  inch 
as  measured  in  accordance  with  the  statutes  of  Montana.  This  is  a 
reasonable  price,  per  year. 

Prices  of  crops  paid  to  farmers  in  1890  is  about  this:  Average 
oats,  stated  about  $1.50  cwt.;  average  barley,  stated  about  $1.15  cwt.; 
average  soft  wheat,  stated  about  75  cents  per  bushel;  hard  wheat,  85 
cents  per  bushel;  No.  i  timothy  hay,  about  $14  per  ton;  wild  hay, 
about  $2  to  $2.50  per  ton  less  than  timothy.  Oats  sometimes  as  high 
as  from  $2  to  $2.10;  barley,  sometimes  as  high  as  $1.55  per  cwt.;  hay, 
$14  per  ton. 

The  crop  of  1891  was  large  and  the  following  are  s^me  of  the  re- 
turns: M.  H.  Allen,  twenty-four  acres  of  oats,  3,100  bushels;  129 
bushels  to  the  acre.  J.  H.  Gallo^fc^  acres  of  wheat,  6,800  bushels; 
sixty-five  bushels  to  the  acre.  2^BrMorgan,  300  acres  wheat,  16,381 
bushels;  fifty-four  bushels  to  the  acre.  William  B.  Reed,  213  acres 
oats,  20,251  bushels;  ninety-five  bushels  to  the  acre.  M.  H.  Penwell, 
450  acres  wheat  and  oats,  23,383  bushels;  fifty-one  bushels  to  the 
acre.  Wm.  Flannery,  575  acres  wheat  and  oats,  30,950  bushels,  fifty- 
four  bushels  to  the  acre. 

This  shows  a  few  representative  crops;  these  are  not  given  as 
average  samples,  and  would  exceed  the  average. 

Gallatin  County  produces,  approximately,  about  one-third  of  the 
cereals  of  the  State. 

There  are  in  the  Gallatin  valley  proper,  approximately,  350,000 
acres  of  arable  land,  and  in  the  county  about  400,000  acres.  To  irri- 
gate this,  there  are  in  the  valley  100,000  inches  of  water  outside  of  the 
main  West  Gallatin  river,  which  has  300,000  additional  inches.  This 
is  an  estimate,  and  exactness  is  not  to  be  expected,  and  we  take  the 
water  at  its  high  stage  in  irrigation  season. 

That  part  of  the  agricultural  area  on  the  Madison  and  Jefferson 
rivers  is  amply  supplied  with  water  from  those  streams. 

In  closing,  I  am  advised  that  there  is  an  ample  supply  of  water 
flowing  in  this  valley  and  county  to  irrigate  all  the  area  that  is  culti- 
vable, supposing  proper  provision  is  made  for  running  the  water  to 
the  plow  lands.  C.  A.  GREGORY. 


72  APPENDIX    SHOWING    THE    STATE    OF 

LEWIS  AND  CLARKE  COUNTY. 

There  are  practically  six  irrigation  valleys  in  Lewis  and  Clarke 
County,  containing  nearly  all  of  the  available  farming  land.  First  is 
the  valley  of  the  Big  Prickly  Pear,  in  which  is  situated  the  Capital  of 
the  State.  This  valley  is  fourteen  miles  in  width  and  about  sixteen 
in  length.  While  all  of  this  is  fine  farming  land,  it  is  not  available 
because  of  the  lack  of  water.  There  are,  however,  about  10,000  acres 
under  irrigation,  deriving  its  supply  of  water  from  the  Big  Prickly 
Pear  creek.  In  this  area  are  some  of  the  finest  farms  in  the  State. 
The  magnificent  farm  owned  by  Mr.  W.  C.  Child  eclipses  all  other 
farms  in  the  Northwest.  Mr.  Child  has  under  fence  about  2,000  acres, 
irrigated  by  a  perfect  system  of  ditches.  In  connection  with  his 
farming  ditches  is  a  water  power  generating  fifty  horse  power,  with 
which  he  grinds  feed  for  several  hundred  head  of  thoroughbred 
stock  and  furnishes  power  for  a  very  complete  creamery,  wherein  is 
to  be  found  all  the  latest  machinery  for  separating  cream  from  new 
milk  and  immediately  turning  it  into  butter.  Mr.  Child  has  erected 
in  addition  to  his  creamery  a  barn  costing  $25,000,  in  the  basement  of 
which  he  stables  about  500  milch  cows.  In  the  second  story  are  enor- 
mous bins  containing  grain  and  other  feed. 

Among  the  other  valuable  fa^^^of  this  system  may  be  mentioned 
the  fine  horse  and  grain  farm  of^^P  W.  G.  Preuitt,  Secretary  of  the 
Montana  Live  Stock  Association.  This  form  contains  about  1,000 
acres  and  is  under  a  very  high  state  of  cultivation.  The  large  farm 
known  as ''Lowlands,"  belonging  to  Mr.  Donald  Branfor  %  is  an  ex- 
ample of  what  may  be  done  with  Montana  soil,  well  irrigated.  "Low- 
lands" embraces  1,000  acres  of  very  rich  wash  loam,  that  produces  an 
average  grain  crop  of  60  bushels  and  250  bushels  of  potatoes.  Lower 
down  the  Prickly  Pear  hay  ranches  predominate,  producing  from  two 
to  three  tons  of  blue  joint  and  other  valuable  hay  grasses  per  acre. 
Upon  Ten-Mile  creek  the  farm  of  Mr.  John  J.  Fant  is  situated.  This 
farm  contains  about  640  acres  and  produces  rich  crops  of  hay  and  grain. 

The  Little  Prickly  Pear  valley  lies  northwest  of  Helena  about 
twenty-five  miles.  Irrigation  is  used  only  to  a  limited  extent  in  this 
valley,  the  soil  being  impregnated  with  water  from  springs.  The  im- 
portant hay  crops  are  nourished  without  the  aid  of  ditches.  This  fact 
enabled  the  use  of  the  waters  of  the  Little  Prickly  Pear  creek  on 
lands  situated  upon  a  rising  plateau  running  towards  the  City  of  Hel- 
ena. This  scheme  embraces  about  2,000  acres. 

Rock  Creek  basin,  lying  between  the  Little  Prickly  Pear  and  Dear- 
born valleys,  includes  several  rich  farms,  the  most  important  being 
that  of  Mr.  D.  A.  G.  Floweree,  containing  1,700  acres.  Mr.  Floweree 
constructed  just  above  his  farm  a  reservoir  that  catches  the  spring 
waters  of  Rock  creek,  distributing  them  during  the  season  of  irriga- 
tion. This  reservoir  is  the  most  complete  in  Lewis  and  Clarke 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  73 

County,  if  not  in  the  State.  North  of  this  is  situated  the  Dearborn 
canal  system.  The  Dearborn  valley  is  richly  endowed  with  every 
attribute  of  wealth.  Comprising  all  that  territory  bounded  on  the 
south  by  the  picturesque  Dearborn  river,  on  the  north  by  the  Sun 
river,  on  the  east  by  the  Missouri  river,  and  upon  the  west  by  the 
main  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  it  is  a  splendid  arrangement  of 
nature.  Its  topographical  features  are  unique,  the  valley  being  di- 
vided into  four  separate  and  distinct  slopes,  all  of  them  deriving  their 
water  for  irrigation  from  the  Dearborn  river,  the  waters  of  which  are 
diverted  about  one  and  one-half  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Grand 
Canyon  of  the  Dearborn  and  conveyed  by  means  of  the  Dearborn 
canal  to  Summit  Lake,  from  which  point  the  water  is  conveyed  by 
smaller  canals  to  the  heads  of  the  streams  known  as  Flat  creek,  Au- 
chard  creek,  Dry  creek  and  Simrns'  creek.  Each  of  these  creeks  runs 
down  the  center  of  a  narrow  valley  and  distributes  the  waters  to  the 
ditches  belonging  to  the  farms  lying  along  its  course.  All  the  terri- 
tory between  these  streams  is  undulating,  furnishing  the  settlers  in 
the  valleys  a  magnificent  pasture  free  of  cost  and  immediately  at  their 
doors.  Its  water  rights  are  perfect,  the  company  having  absolute  con- 
trol of  the  whole  Dearborn  river.  Its  water  supply  is  first-class,  with 
a  reservoir  system  covering  5,000  acres,  at  an  average  depth  of  forty 
feet.  The  main  canal  is  38  feet  wide,  6  feet  depth  of  water,  and  has  a 
grade  of  3.1  feet  per  mile.  Its  whole  construction  is  based  upon 
safety  and  utility,  without  regard  to  cost.  Its  dam  and  head  gates  are, 
combined,  300  feet  in  length,  and  have  withstood  the  onslaught  of  the 
greatest  of  spring  floods.  The  main  reservoir  will  be  independent  of 
the  canal  supply  and  outlet,  thus  insuring  the  settlers  against  the  lack 
of  water  because  of  breaks  in  either  the  canal  or  reservoirs.  These 
reservoirs  will  hold  sufficient  water  to  supply  every  acre  of  farming- 
land  in  the  valley  during  the  whole  season  of  irrigation.  Thus  it  will 
be  seen  the  settlers  are  safe  from  drought  beyond  a  peradventure. 

Recognizing  the  naturally  adverse  interests  existing  between  the 
owners  of  canals  and  the  users  of  water,  the  management  has  origi- 
nated and  will  put  into  practice  the  plan  of  organizing  the  farmers  of 
each  creek's  slope,  district  or  valley  into  associations,  such  assoriation 
to  elect  its  own  water  master  or  superintendent,  who  shall  receive  the 
waters  from  the  canal  management  and  distribute  them  in  the  way 
desired  by  the  farmers.  A  board  of  trustees,  composed  of  farmer*,, 
shall  pass  upon  all  disputes  as  between  the  farmers  and  shall  manage 
the  building  of  laterals  and  the  distribution  of  waters  through  the 
water  master.  They  shall  assess  benefits,  collect  water  rents  aed  set- 
tle with  the  canal  management  for  the  water.  In  this  way  there  will 
be  no  conflicts  between  the  canal  company  and  the  farmers.  The 
water  will  be  delivered  to  and  .measured  through  weirs  at  given  points 
and  paid  for  in  advance  according  to  such  measurement.  This  board 
of  trustees  shall  be  elected  by  the  owners  of  the  lands  irrigated  the 


74  APPENDIX    SHOWING    THE    STATE    OF 

next  preceding  year,  each  voter  to  have  as  many  votes  as  he  had  acres 
irrigated.  New  irrigators  or  those  desiring  to  increase  their  area  of 
land  to  be  irrigated  may  become  voters  providing  they  contract  for 
the  necessary  water  to  cover  the  acreage  commanding  the  votes.  The 
company  will  establish  a  price  per  cubic  foot  per  second.  The  trus- 
tees will  decide  upon  the  quantity  of  water  necessary  for  the  land  and 
purchase  from  the  company  accordingly.  This  will  insure  economy 
in  the  use  of  water  and  will  enable  the  company,  because  of  such 
economy,  to  cover  a  larger  area. 

The  results  will  be  economy  both  for  the  consumers  and  the  com- 
pany, no  conflicts,  no  irritation,  a  greater  number  of  acres  irrigated. 

The  officers  of  this  canal  are  L.  U  S.  Ames,  President;  Henry 
Semple  Ames,  Vice  President;  Donald  Bradford,  General  Manager; 
general  offices,  Helena,  Montana. 

With  the  exception  of  Big  Prickly  Pear  valley,  the  whole  of  Lewis 
and  Clarke  County  is  well  supplied  with  water  and  will  be  quickly 
occupied  by  settlers  of  a  superior  class.  Its  markets  are  the  best  in 
the  Northwest,  as  it  is  close  to  the  three  largest  and  most  important 
cities,  and  it  has  direct  railroad  connection  with  every  mining  camp. 


MADISON  COUNTY. 

The  Madison  and  Jefferson  rivers,  with  the  tributaries  of  the  latter 
stream,  such  as  the  Big  Hole,  Beaverhead  and  the  Ruby  rivers,  fur- 
nish the  principal  water  supply  of  Madison  County,  and  have  their 
source  high  up  near  the  main  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  With 
the  discovery  of  the  famous  placer  mines  of  Alder  Gulch  early  in  the 
year  1863,  which  caused  a  heavy  influx  of  population  and  settled  the 
valleys,  the  large  mining  industry  that  sprang  into  existence  in  a  day 
created  a  demand  for  all  farm  products,  which  had  to  be  supplied  at 
that  time  from  the  valleys  of  Utah,  and  although  the  farmers  of  the 
then  new  country  at  once  turned  their  attention  to  the  raising  of 
grain,  hay  and  vegetables  to  the  extent  of  their  ability,  still  it  was  not 
until  four  years  later  that  a  supply  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  the  pop- 
ulation could  be  produced  at  home.  The  production  of  grain  was 
greatly  retarded,  owing  to  the  difficulty  experienced  by  the  farmers 
in  procuring  seed  and  the  myriads  of  grasshoppers  that  swarmed  into 
the  valleys  and  consumed  every  spear  of  grain  before  it  was  fairly 
headed  out.  So  that  with  the  exception  of  those  who  had  engaged  in 
raising  potatoes  and  other  vegetables  and  in  cutting  wild  grass  for 
hay,  which  sold  at  fabulous  prices,  very  little  was  accomplished  in  the 
matter  of  irrigation  until  1864.  At  thai  time  the  streams  were  all  full 
until  late  in  the  season,  and  very  few  large  ditches  or  canals  were 
constructed,  but  those  engaged  in  the  business  contented  themselves 
with  what  might  be  termed  high  water  ditches,  that  seldom  exceeded 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  75 

a  mile  in  length.  From  this  small  beginning  the  agricultural  industry 
has  grown,  so  that  at  present  there  are  536  farms,  containing  an  acre- 
age of  166,812,  of  which  143,409  acres  are  under  fence  and  nearly  all 
supplied  with  water  ditches  for  irrigation.  In  many  instances  these 
ditches  are  owned  by  individual  farmers.  They  vary  in  capacity  from 
25  to  250  inches  and  the  length  varies  from  one  to  five  miles.  In 
other  cases  several  farmers  have  associated  themselves  together  and 
constructed  canals  from  five  to  twenty  miles  in  length  to  convey 
water  to  their  lands  along  the  line.  The  Madison  river,  which  has  its 
source  high  up  in  the  fire  holes  of  the  National  Park,  west  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone lake,  has  the  largest  surplus  of  unappropriated  water  of  any 
stream  in  that  county,  and  whilst  there  are  a  large  number  of  farms 
in  the  valley  under  irrigation,  still  few  farmers  use  the  waters  of  the 
main  stream,  but  have  appropriated  the  waters  of  tributaries  flowing 
in  from  either  side.  On  the  eastern  side,  where  the  largest  body  of 
agricultural  land  is  situated,  the  waters  of  the  Jordan,  Jack,  Cedar, 
Bear,  Indian,  Wolf,  Moose  and  Squaw  creeks  are  largely  used  for 
irrigation,  and  on  the  west  side  are  Horse,  Ruby,  Cherry,  Wigwam, 
Moores  and  Spring  creeks.  A  great  portion  of  each  are  appropriated. 
One  of  the  largest  canals  in  the  county  is  that  from  Spring  creek, 
which  is  t  •>  enty-three  miles  in  length,  is  about  eight  feet  by  six  and 
two  feet  deep,  and  conveys  the  waters  of  Spring  creek  to  the  table 
lands  south  of  Meadow  creek,  and  land,  where  a  few  years  since 
nothing  but  cactus  would  grow,  is  now  producing  large  crops  of  grain, 
alfalfa  and  timothy  hay.  The  early  settlers  as  a  general  thing  took 
up  what  seemed  to  them  the  most  desirable  hay  lands,  giving  less 
attention  to  agriculture,  and  where  their  attention  was  given  to  the 
subject,  failed  to  produce  as  good  results  as  have  since  been  attained 
on  the  grease  wood  and  sage  brush  land,  as  the  soil  of  the  former 
contained  more  alkali,  and  the  inexperienced  grangers  knew  but 
little  how  to  eradicate  it. 

On  the  Ruby  valley  for  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  in  length,  and 
varying  from  three  to  ten  miles  in  width,  the  greater  portion  is  under 
irrigation.  On  either  bank  ditch  after  ditch  and  canal  after  canal  are 
constructed,  and  the  waters  of  the  main  stream,  as  well  as  those  of 
Wisconsin,  Indian  and  Mill  creeks,  Ramshorn  river,  Alder,  Idaho  and 
Greenhorn  gulches  on  the  east,  with  Ledford,  Robb,  Sweetwater, 
Garden  and  HLich  creeks  and  Silver  Springs  on  the  west,  the  waters 
of  the  whole  are  utilized  to  their  full  capacity.  Until  storage  reser- 
voirs are  constructed  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  f  large  canals  con- 
structed on  each  side  of  the  stream  and  the  smaller  ditches  abandoned, 
there  would  be  a  great  saving  of  water  from  seepage  and  evaporation. 
It  would  certainly  be  more  easily  handled  and  we  think  produce  bet- 
ter results  than  are  now  obtained  and  much  expensive  and  vexatious 
litigation  would  be  avoided. 

The   Beaverhead    valley,  from    the   Beaverhead   rock   north   some 


76  APPENDIX    SHOWING   THE    STATE    OF 

fifteen  miles,  was  settled  early,  and  many  of  the  settlers  engaged  in 
stock  growing,  but  all  had  their  gardens,  grain  fields  and  wild  meadow 
lands,  upon  which  they  constructed  ditches  and  irrigation  mains.  No 
great  effort  was  put  forth  towards  the  reclamation  of  arid  lands  on  the 
upper  Beaverhead  until  the  advent  of  the  Utah  &  Northern  Railway 
and  markets  were  opened  with  Glendale,  Butte  and  Anaconda  for 
farm  products,  at  which  time  the  subject  of  irrigation  received  a  great 
impetus,  and  several  large  canals  were  constructed  and  the  waters 
diverted  to  such  an  extent  that  in  dry  seasons  the  bed  of  the  stream  is 
practically  dry  from  Dillon  north  to  its  confluence  \  ith  the  Big  Hole 
river  and  forming  the  Jefferson  river. 

The  Beaverhead  river,  with  Red  Rock  one  of  its  principal  tribu- 
taries, is  perhaps  the  longest  branch  of  the  Missouri,  having  its  source 
in  the  southern  part  of  Madison  County,  in  and  around  Red  Rock 
lake,  near  the  Idaho  line,  running  thence  in  a  westerly  direction, 
throwing  a  broad  loop  into  Beaverhead  County,  and,  after  a  journey 
of  100  miles,  returns  again  to  Madison  County.  A  few  miles  below 
the  Red  Rock  lake,  in  what  is  called  Centennial  valley,  is  a  point 
where  the  solid  rock  ledges  approach  from  either  side.  Here  is  one 
of  the  most  favorable  locations  for  a  storage  reservoir  in  the  State. 
The  stream  from  the  lake  to  this  point  is  very  flat,  and  a  dam  could 
be  easily  constructed  that  would  back  the  water  up  into  the  lake. 
This  point  was  selected  by  the  engineers  of  Major  Powell  as  the  most 
desirable  site  on  the  stream,  and  the  lands  on  each  side  of  the  river 
and  around  the  marshy  lake  were  withdrawn  from  entry  so  as  not  to 
interfere  with  the  storage  of  water.  A  small  appropriation  by  Con- 
gress for  the  erection  of  a  storage  reservoir  at  this  place  would  be  of 
inestimable  value,  as  there  are  yet  many  thousands  of  acres  of  arid 
lands  that  could  be  reclaimed  from  that  source  alone,  and  cannot  be 
successfully  irriga'ed  in  any  other  way.  The  Big  Hole  river  produces 
more  water  than  either  the  Ruby  or  Beaverhead.  It  has  but  little 
irrigable  lands  as  compared  with  the  other  streams,  as  it  runs  through 
canyons  and  narrow  valleys  until  within  ten  miles  of  where  it  is 
joined  bv  the  Beaverhead  and  Ruby,  forming  the  Jefferson  river. 
Several  large  canals  are  completed,  and  the  waters  are  used  on  the 
level  valley  between  the  rivers.  On  the  Jefferson  valley  quite  a 
number  of  large  canals  are  already  completed  and  in  use,  whilst  others 
are  in  course  of  construction  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  from  Silver 
Star  northward.  At  Waterloo  is  a  fine,  prosperous  community  that, 
in  addition  to  the  waters  of  Spring  creek,  have  a  canal  from  the  Jef- 
ferson about  twelve  miles  in  length,  and  are  engaged  in  the  construc- 
tion of  another  and  longer  canal.  There  is  still  a  large  amount  of 
unappropriated  water  in  the  Jefferson  river,  which  courses  through 
and  forms  the  north  line  of  Madison  County  for  a  distance  of  forty 
miles,  receiving  the  waters  of  Fish  creek,  the  North  and  South 
Boulder  rivers  and  several  other  smaller  streams.  From  the  South 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  77 

Boulder  a  large  amount  of  water  for  irrigation  and  placer  mining  has 
been  appropriated.  The  waters  of  North  and  South  Willow  creeks 
are  largely  appropriated,  so  that  during  dry  seasons  but  little  if  any 
runs  to  waste.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Norwegian  and  Hot  Spring, 
Cherry  and  Pole  creeks,  also  South  Meadow  and  Leonard  creeks. 
North  Meadow  is  a  larger  stream  than  either  of  the  last  named,  but 
at  the  low  stage  of  water  but  little  remains  unappropriated,  and  there 
are  several  small  lakes  on  this  stream  that  attempts  have  been  made 
to  improve  for  the  purpose  of  storing  water.  There  are  large  [placers 
at  and  about  Washington  bar,  where  the  waters  of  this  stream  are 
used  before  it  reaches  the  valley  for  general  irrigation  purposes. 
There  are,  according  to  reports  at  hand,  nearly  600  miles  of  ditches 
and  canals  in  Madison  County  in  the  aggregate,  with  a  capacity  of 
about  150,000  inches  of  water,  and,  as  heretofore  stated,  until  storage 
reservoirs  are  constructed,  no  surplus  in  any  of  the  s-treams  except  a 
small  amount  in  Big  Hole,  a  still  larger  amount  in  the  Jefferson,  and 
the  largest  amount  of  any  single  stream  in  the  Madison  river. 

R.  O.  HICKMAN. 


MISSOULA  COUNTY. 

I  have  been  unable  to  secure  complete  statistics  relating  to  the 
subject  of  irrigation  in  the  County  of  Missoula,  and  am  at  a  loss 
somewhat  as  to  how  to  formulate  a  satisfactory  report.  I  know  of  at 
this  time  but  three  or  four  irrigation  schemes  on  what  is  anything 
like  an  extensive  plan,  or  idea.  One  of  these  is  the  Republican 
Ditch  Company,  taking  water  out  of  the  Skalkaho  creek  and  Bitter 
Root  river.  The  ditch  perhaps  in  its  greatest  length  is  about  twelve 
or  fifteen  miles,  carries  about  2,000  inches  of  water  and  irrigates  5,000 
acres  of  land,  possibly  more.  It  is  a  joint  stock  company,  the  owner- 
ship of  which  is  largely  held  by  Marcus  Daly,  and  very  much  of  the 
water  is  used  by  him  on  his  extensive  farm  at  Riverside,  in  this 
county.  The  remainder  of  the  stock  is  held  by  the  neighboring 
farmers,  who  use  the  water  of  the  ditch  in  their  various  farming 
projects. 

The  Surprise  Ditch  Company  takes  water  from  the  Bitter  Root 
river,  its  greatest  length  being  fifteen  miles.  It  also  passes  through 
the  Daly  ranch.  More  or  less  of  the  stock  of  this  company  is  also 
held  by  Mr.  Daly,  the  remainder  by  quite  a  considerable  number  of 
Bitter  Root  farmers,  among  others  being  Cortez  Goff.  This  ditch, 
perhaps,  furnishes  water  for  two  or  three  thousand  acres.  Then 
there  is  the  ^Etna  Ditch  Company,  also  taking  water  out  of  the  Bit- 
ter Root  river,  the  water  from  which  irrigates  perhaps  1,000  acres. 
The  leading  spirit  in  this  last 'ditch  is  L.  Frankton  Warner. 

There  are  an  innumerable  number  of  lesser  irrigation  schemes  and 
individual  water  appropriations,  taking  in  fact  all  of  the  waters  of 


78  APPENDIX    SHOWING    THE    STATE    OF 

Skalkaho  creek,  Willow  creek,  Girds  creek,  Burnt  Fork,  Three- 
Mile,  Eight-Mile,  Sleeping  Child,  Tin  Cup,  Grant  creek,  Rattlesnake, 
Lavalla  creek,  O'Keefe  creek,  Lynch  creek  and  some  of  the  waters  of 
Lo  Lo.  There  is  also  a  company  organized,  composed  principally  of 
citizens  of  the  city  of  Missoula,  known  as  the  Canon  Ditch  Company. 
It  has  now  under  construction  and  rapidly  approaching  completion  a 
ditch  taking  the  waters  of  the  Hell  Gate  or  Missoula  river  about  five 
miles  up  the  river  from  the  city  of  Missoula,  crossing  the  farm  of 
Daniel  E.  Bandmann,  coming  out  of  the  canyon  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river,  thence  following  along  the  foot  of  the  mountain  with  later- 
als, reaching  to  various  tracts  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  Mis- 
soula river.  This  project  reclaims  several  hundred  acres  heretofore 
desert  lands.  It  is  expected  to  be  made  available  for  making  the 
yards,  lawns  and  orchards  of  South  Missoula  grow  and  blossom  as  a 
rose.  It  is  estimated  that  this  ditch  will  carry  between  four  and  five 
thousand  inches  of  water,  and  the  cost  will  be  about  $30,000.  Its  pro- 
prietorship is  composed  largely  of  the  owners  of  the  land  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Missoula  river  at  Missoula. 

I  might  add  that  there  is  a  vast  quantity  of  land  in  Missoula 
County  now  desert  that  could  be  reclaimed,  but  the  expenditure 
necessary  is  greater  than  the  individual  farmers,  or  even  a  collection 
of  farmers,  could  undertake;  but  a  magnificent  field  is  presented  to 
the  enterprising  capitalist,  as  there  is  in  our  mountain  streams,  rivers 
and  lakes  a  vast  quantity  of  water,  that  by  the  expenditure  of  what 
would  not  to  a  man  of  means  be  a  very  considerable  amount  of 
money,  could  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  reclaiming  this  large  tract 
of  arid  or  desert  lands,  and  the  returns  on  the  investment  would  be 
very  large. 

Missoula  valley  is  exceedingly  fertile  and  the  county  is  peopled 
with  quite  an  enterprising,  frugal  and  industrious  people,  who,  how- 
ever, have  not  been  able  financially  to  cope  with  the  physical  condi- 
tions, have  made  the  lands  yield  abundant  harvest  of  fruit,  grain,  hay 
and  all  kinds  of  vegetables.  A.  G.  ENGLAND. 


MEAGHER  COUNTY. 

The  situation  in  Meagher  County  as  regards  this  problem  of  irri- 
gation may  be  gathered  with  reasonable  correctness  from  a  few  facts 
that  I  shall  be  able  to  give  you.  The  Assessor  of  Meagher  County 
reports  for  the  present  year  333  farms.  These  farms  are  none  of  them 
less  in  extent  than  160  acres,  many  of  them  much  larger,  the  average 
being  over  500  acres.  They  all  need  irrigation  to  make  them  pro- 
ductive. 

Our  agricultural  lands,  and  in  that  term  I  include  all  lands  that, 
with  water  for  irrigation,  will  produce  crops,  are  confined  principally 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  79 

to  three  large  valleys:  The  Missouri  valley,  extending  from  Canyon 
Ferry  southerly  some  forty  miles  to  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
county,  and  embracing  some  102,400  acres.  The  Smith  River  valley, 
extending  from  about  ten  miles  south  of  White  Sulphur  Springs  to 
old  Fort  Logan,  some  thirty-five  or  forty  miles  north,  embracing 
96,000  acres.  The  Musselshell  valley,  extending  from  its  forks  east- 
erly about  sixty  miles,  embracing  192,000  acres,  making  a  total  of 
390,400  acres.  Of  this  area  27,000  acres  (about)  are  cultivated,  leaving 
363,400  acres  of  arid  lands  within  our  boundaries.  About  all  cheap 
sources  of  water  supply  have  been  exhausted.  All  the  water  flowing 
during  the  irrigating  season  in  the  streams  of  the  valleys  I  have  named 
has  been  appropriated. 

The  ditches  used  are  mostly  small,  constructed  for  single  farms. 
In  the  Missouri  valley  several  large  ditches  from  the  Missouri  river 
supply  each  from  four  to  ten  ranches.  A  canal  has  been  projected  in- 
the  Missouri  valley  that  directly  and  indirectly  will  reclaim  from 
8,000  to  10,000  acres.  The  stock  is  mostly  subscribed,  and  it  is  hoped 
to  commence  the  work  of  construction  the  coming  spring.  The  op- 
portunities for  improving  our  present  condition  would  seem  to  be  by 
the  construction  of  reservoirs  in  each  of  these  valleys.  Sites  favora- 
ble for  their  construction  are  found  in  each,  and  the  flow  of  water  in 
the  streams  now  appropriated  for  irrigating  purposes  is  sufficient,  if 
held  in  check  by  reservoirs  through  that  season  of  the  year  when  not 
used  by  the  farmer,  to  nearly  if  not  quite  supply  the  entire  area  of 
agricultural  land.  J.  E.  KANOUSE. 


PARK  COUNTY. 

I  am  not  very  well  posted  in  regard  to  what  has  been  done  in  the 
western  portion  of  our  county,  but  will  give  you  what  I  know  about 
the  water  and  irrigation  in  my  district.  I  can  answer  a  great  many 
questions  in  a  few  words.  With  water  we  can  raise  anything  that 
could  be  expected  in  this  latitude,  and  without  water  nothing.  As 
for  the  supply  of  water,  there  is  plenty  for  all  the  arid  lands  in  this- 
vicinity  if  it  was  properly  handled  and  stored.  I  will  first  mention 
the  Big  Timber  creek:  This  water  could  be  stored  with  a  very  good 
reservoir  site,  and  then  it  could  be  taken  out  with  a  small  expense 
and  thrown  over  into  Otter  creek,  where  there  is  a  great  deal  of  good 
agricultural  land.  Then  comes  the  Sweet  Grass,  which  throws  a 
large  amount  of  water  in  June  and  July.  There  could  be  a  canal 
taken  out  of  this  stream  and  carried  on  the  edge  between  Sweet  Grass 
lake  basin  and  White  Beaver  basin,  where  it  could  be  distributed  so  it 
would  supply  all  the  arid  lands  in  those  places,  and  also  supply  the 
present  demand  on  the  Sweet  Grass,  and  do  away  with  all  the  present 
ditches  now  in  use  and  under  construction.  Nature  never  formed  a 


80  APPENDIX    SHOWING    THE    STATE    OF 

better  reservoir  site  than  on  the  Sweet  Grass.  A  dam  eighty  feet 
high  and  not  to  exceed  one  hundred  yards  in  length  on  top,  would 
store  a  body  of  water  averaging  one  mile  wide  and  five  miles  long, 
and  from  fifty  to  eighty  feet  in  depth,  and  covering  no  arid  land  what- 
ever. Then  the  waters  of  Sweet  Grass  would  supply  hundreds  of 
farms  and  increase  our  population  500  per  cent. 

As  for  the  work  that  has  been  done,  it  i^s  all  the  work  of  the  farm- 
ers and  stock  men,  who  have  combined  together  and  taken  out  such 
ditches  as  would  supply  their  own  wants.  There  are  twelve  or  fifteen 
ditches  now  taken  out  of  the  Sweet  Grass,  carrying  from  200  to  1,200 
inches,  and  I  would  venture  to  say  in  June  and  July  25,000  inches 
runs  to  waste.  There  is  plenty  of  land  on  which  to  utilize  it  all  if  it 
was  properly  distributed.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  land  lying  dormant 
along  the  Yellowstone,  which  all  could  be  covered,  but  it  will  take 
large  capital.  Nowhere  in  Montana  have  I  seen  a  section  where 
water  could  be  stored  and  utilized  as  cheap  as  in  Big  Timber  and  the 
Sweet  Grass.  W.  A.  HARRISON. 

Sweet  Grass. 


SILVER  BOW  COUNTY. 

Hon.  W.  A.  Clark,  of  Butte  City,  to  whom  was  delegated  by  the 
late  State  Irrigation  Convention  the  task  of  preparing  a  statement 
showing  the  status  of  irrigation  in  Silver  Bow  County,  wras  unex- 
pectedly called  east.  In  his  stead  I  am  invited  to  make  some  state- 
ment in  reference  thereto. 

It  is  well  known  to  every  one  residing  within  the  State  that  this 
county  is  geographically  located  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  Mon- 
tana and  on  and  along  the  western  slope  of  the  main  range  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Being  the  smallest  county  in  area  in  the  State, 
with  an  average  altitude  of  over  5,000  feet,  it  is  not  surprising  that  it 
should  contain  less  than  a  township  of  arable  land,  and  being  so  high 
up  in  the  mountains  what  little  it  has  is  pretty  generally  reclaimed 
by  independent  private  enterprise.  It  has,  however,  valuable  reser- 
voir sites,  where,  by  proper  engineering  development,  large  storage 
of  water  could  be  had  and  used  for  the  benefit  of  Deer  Lodge  valley, 
if  it  could  be  spared  here  and  should  ever  become  necessary.  The 
great  uses  of  our  water  supply  will  be  its  storage  and  distribution  in 
the  upbuilding  of  manufacturing  and  reduction  industries  tributary  to 
Butte  City. 

However  much  our  water  might  be  of  benefit  to  its  natural  uses  in 
agricultural  lines,  and  however  much  of  it  the  skill  of  intelligent  en- 
gineering may  develop  for  us,  the  great  demand  in  the  direction  I 
have  indicated  will  make  it  stand  to  us  in  value  next  to  the  commodi- 
ties of  gold,  silver  and  copper.  The  ruling  valuable  component  parts 


IRRIGATION    IN   THE   COUNTIES.  8l 

that  go  to  make  up  the  source  of  Silver  Bow  County's  prosperity  is 
labor,  gold,  silver,  copper,  water  and  fuel.  In  all  of  these  items  we 
are  peculiarly  interested,  and  in  our  economic  system  each  is  inter- 
dependent on  the  other.  When,  in  simple  truth,  we  recite  that  in 
fifteen  years  the  life  of  Butte  City  as  an  ore  producing  center,  by  rea- 
son of  our  recovering  from  the  earth  gold,  silver  and  copper,  the 
world  has  been  made  richer  in  a  sum  greater  than  $200,000,000,  and 
when  we  further  state,  without  the  fear  of  successful  contradiction, 
that  this  calendar  year  of  1892  will  add,  of  these  materials,  a  value  of 
over  $30,000,000,  with  evidences  of  an  annual  increase  as  years  roll  by, 
and  when  the  character  of  our  low  grade  ores  is  considered,  requiring 
for  its  dressing  the  primary  element  of  water,  then  conceding  to  us 
the  great  growth  of  manufactories  already  on  every  hand,  and  the 
great  industries  to  come,  we  may  well  say  that  we  have  no  water  to 
spare  for  irrigation  in  the  sense  of  reclaiming  arid  lands. 

Notwithstanding  all  of  this,  and  for  the  very  reason  of  this,  we,  of 
Silver  Bow  County,  are  greatly  interested  in  the  reclamation  by  irri- 
gation of  the  great  arable  plateaus  of  Eastern  and  Northern  Montana. 
We  say  to  you  that  we  are  the  great  consumer  of  the  results  of  the 
husbandry  of  Montana,  and  may  for  that  reason,  if  no  other,  be 
counted  upon  to  take  a  great  interest  in  all  questions  relating  to  re- 
claiming the  arid  lands  of  the  State  of  Montana. 

Whether  that  reclamation  is  undertaken  by  the  State  or  United 
States  matters  to  us  of  Silver  Bow  County  only  as  to  which  is  deter- 
mined to  be  the  best  agency.  That  it  should  be  undertaken  by  one  or 
the  other  immediately  is  seemingly  an  impending  necessity. 

GEO.  W.  IRVINE  II. 


YELLOWSTONE  COUNTY. 

Yellowstone  County  has  an  area  of  3,390  square  miles,  and  an  esti- 
mated irrigable  area  of  500,000  acres.  Its  northern  and  southern 
boundaries  are  respectively  the  Musselshell  and  Yellowstone  rivers, 
which  constitute  also  its  ample  sources  of  water  for  irrigation. 

As  the  Musselshell  has  its  heads  among  mountains  of  low  altitude, 
the  melting  snows  by  which  it  is  fed  become  exhausted  early  in  the 
season  and  its  waters  consequently  fail  when  most  needed.  For  the 
reclamation  of  the  drainage  basin  of  the  Musselshell  resort  must  be 
had,  therefore,  to  storage  reservoirs  in  which  the  spring  freshets  may 
be  impounded  until  needed. 

The  Yellowstone  river,  on  the  other  hand,  heading  as  it  does 
among  the  perpetual  snows,  rolls  down  its  floods  during  the  months 
of  greatest  heat  and  when  the  thirsty  earth  is  in  greatest  need.  The 
volume  of  the  Yellowstone  during  hot  weather  is  estimated  at 
4,000,000  miners'  inches,  which  for  practical  irrigation  could  by 


82  APPENDIX    SHOWING   THE    STATE   OF 

means  of  storage  reservoirs  be  greatly  increased.  The  hydrographic 
basin  of  the  Yellowstone,  with  interruptions,  is  about  400  miles  long, 
and,  including  the  adjacent  mesas,  reclaimable  by  high-line  ditches,  it 
has  an  average  width^  of  from  eight  to  twelve  miles.  Expert  esti- 
mates place  the  irrigable  area  of  the  entire  Yellowstone  basin  as  high 
as  8,000,000  acres.  The  capacity  of  the  Yellowstone,  conserved  by 
storage,  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  ample  for  the  most  exacting 
droughts  which  are  likely  ever  to  be  made  upon  it.  The  fall  of  the 
Yellowstone  is  so  rapid  that  it  offers  especial  facilities  for  the  con- 
ducting of  water  onto  the  adjacent  plateaus,  and  the  time  is  probably 
not  far  distant  when  large  areas  of  table-land  which  are  now  utilized 
only  as  ranges  for  cattle  and  sheep  will  be  dotted  with  farm  houses 
surrounded  by  fragrant  orchards  and  by  waving  fields  of  green  and 
gold. 

Yellowstone  is  one  of  the  youngest  counties  of  the  State.  Its  set- 
tlement practically  dates  from  the  advent  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  into  Eastern  Montana,  in  1882.  Adverse  influences,  which  it 
is  unnecessary  to  explain  in  this  connection,  have  greatly  retarded  its 
agricultural  development.  Enough  has  been  done,  however,  to  dem- 
onstrate that  in  all-round  capacity  for  production  Yellowstone  is  sec- 
ond to  no  county  in  the  State. 

Aside  from  a  few  small  ditches  on  the  Musselshell,  the  principal 
development  has  been  in  Clark's  Fork  Bottom,  a  name  applied  to  an 
enlargement  of  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone,  reaching  westward 
from  Billings  for  thirty  miles.  The  ditches  of  this  bottom  aggregate 
perhaps  12,000  miners'  inches,  the  largest  of  them  having  a  nominal 
capacity  of  5,000  inches  and  a  length  of  thirty-nine  miles.  The  area 
of  Clark's  Fork  Bottom  is  nearly  60,000  acres. 

The  soil  of  Yellowstone  County  grades  from  a  light  sandy  loam  to 
heavy  clay  loam,  clay  loam  of  moderate  weight  predominating,  and 
it  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth  of  grapes  and  cereals.  Oats 
rarely  weigh  less  than  forty  pounds  per  measured  bushel,  and  yield 
from  forty  to  eighty  bushels  to  the  acre,  according  to  the  skill  of  the 
cultivator.  Wheat  readily  yields  from  twenty-five  to  forty  bushels 
per  acre,  and  owing  to  our  comparatively  low  altitude,  3,io°  feet>  and 
our  hot  summers,  hardens  so  perfectly  as  to  have  been  pronounced  by 
experienced  Eastern  millers  to  be  equal,  if  not  superior  for  flouring 
purposes,  to  the  choicest  Dakota  No.  i  hard  wheat.  Our  barley  fully 
sustains  the  reputation  of  the  State  for  the  production  of  this  cereal 
in  exceptional  quality.  Dent  corn  grows  here  as  well  as  in  Northern 
Ohio;  while  potatoes,  squashes,  melons  and  vegetables  in  general,  as 
elsewhere  in  the  State,  for  size  and  quality  trench  upon  the  mar- 
velous. 

Of  the  hay-producing  grasses,  bluestem  has  been  its  habitat,  and 
attains  its  highest  perfection;  but  as  it  degenerates  eventually  under 
irrigation,  timothy  is  being  substituted  gradually,  and  yields  from 


IRRIGATION    IN    THE    COUNTIES.  83 

two  to  three  tons  to  the  acre.  In  respect  to  alfalfa,  Yellowstone  is 
easily  the  banner  county  of  the  State.  This  marvelous  plant  thrives 
on  all  our  soils,  but  especially  on  the  sandy  loam.  With  but  a  single 
irrigation  after  each  cutting  it  yields  three  full  crops  yearly,  aggre- 
gating from  five  to  six  tons  per  acre,  of  a  hay  so  rich  in  nutritive 
value  that  it  will  m;ike  mutton  or  beef  during  a  Montana  winter,  with 
the  help  only  of  shelter  and  water.  All  the  small  fruits,  including 
grapes  of  medium  season,  grow  luxuriantly.  The  hardier  varieties 
of  plums  and  of  standard  apples  also  do  well. 

Yellowstone  County  offers  exceptional  inducements  to  thrifty,  in- 
telligent farmers  seeking  homes.  The  best  unimproved  lands  may 
be  had  here,  under  ditch,  at  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  per  acre,  and 
under  irrigation  excellent  crops  can  be  taken  from  the  sod  within 
four  months  from  the  time  it  is  broken.  No  county  in  the  State  is 
susceptible  of  more  varied  farming.  The  facility  with  which  barley, 
peas,  alfalfa,  Hubbard  squashes  and  corn  can  be  raised  affords  the 
finest  possibilities  in  dairying  and  in  the  making  of  hams  and  bacon, 
two  industries  scarcely  represented  in  the  county.  Alfalfa  is  peerless 
for  bee-farming  and  for  poultry  raising,  while  the  making  of  beef  and 
mutton  from  alfalfa,  both  green  and  dry,  is  destined  to  become  a 
leading  industry  of  the  farmers  of  Yellowstone  County  and  to  add 
thousands  to  their  wealth.  Yellowstone  County  is  without  a  flouring 
mill,  and  a  fortune  awaits  the  man  who  shall  first  build  one  here. 
Cheese  and  beet-sugar  manufactories  could  command  here  the  best 
of  working  material  and  an  appreciative  market. 

Winter  commences  in  Yellowstone  County  with  great  regularity 
during  the  closing  days  of  December,  and  breaks  in  from  two  to  six 
weeks.  The  chinook  begins  in  February,  and  the  5th  of  March 
usually  finds  the  farmer  putting  in  his  seed.  The  summers  are  long 
and  hot. 

A  fact  of  immense  practical  importance  to  the  future  of  Yellow- 
stone County  is  the  assurance  of  the  sustained  fertility  of  its  lands. 
During  the  summer  months  the  watej-s  of  the  Yellowstone  are  thick 
with  silt,  the  fertilizing  wealth  of  the  mountains  from  which  they 
flow.  The  process  of  irrigation  distributes  this  soil-laden  water  over 
the  luxuriant  fields,  supplying  their  waste  and  quenching  their  thirst 
as  from  the  fountain  of  perpetual  youth.  So  that  bountiful  harvests 
suggest  to  the  farmer  no  disquieting  fears  of  the  exhaustion  of  his 
soil,  but  rather  remind  him  of  his  debt  to  that  kindly  Providence 
who  by  wonderful  provision  has  thus  ordained  that  by  giving  his 
fields  shall  not  be  impoverished,  and  that  by  the  lapse  of  the  years 
their  natural  force  shall  not  be  abated.  B.  F.  SHUART. 

BILLINGS,  Jan.  23,  1892. 


84  APPENDIX    SHOWING   THE    STATE    OF 

ST.  MARY'S  LAKE  COUNTRY. 

It  was  my  fortune  to  be  able  to  visit  the  northwestern  po  tion  of 
the  State  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  during  the  past  autumn  season. 
The  purposes  of  my  visit  were  an  examination  of  the  soil,  nature  of 
the  country,  and  the  possibilities  of  irrigation.  Almost  uniformly 
the  soil  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  Missouri 
river,  is  of  an  excellent  quality,  and  produces  a  vigorous  growth  of 
native  grass.  A  portion  of  it  still  being, and  all  of  it  having  been  until 
recently,  included  in  an  Indian  reservation,  but  little  is  as  yet  known 
as  to  its  adaptability  for  growing  domestic  products.  I  would  like  to 
say  in  this  connection,  however,  that  I  saw  here  what  I  never  saw  be- 
fore— flax  of  excellent  quality  growing  native  and  wild,  indiginous  to 
the  country.  Also  in  several  places  I  found  native  timothy  growing, 
making  a  very  excellent  grass.  Several  streams  have  their  origin  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  flowing  eastward,  and  convey  more  or  less 
water  to  the  Missouri  river.  Chief  among  these  are  the  Teton,  the 
Marias  and  the  JMilk  rivers,  with  their  smaller  tributaries.  It  is  a 
noticeable  feature  of  them  all  that  in  crossing  over  a  strip  of  land 
somewhat  irregular  but  probably  fifty  miles  in  width,  all  of  them  part 
with  more  or  less  of  their  water,  and  actually  carry  less  water  when 
emptying  into  the  Missouri  river  than  is  found  in  them  nearer  to 
their  source.  This  fact  may  possibly  have  connection  with  the  arte- 
sian flow  of  water  so  generally  found  further  down  on  the  eastern 
slope.  All  of  these  streams  when  leaving  the  mountains  are  well  de- 
fined and  the  flow  continual,  and  carry  considerable  quantities  of 
water.  Their  sources  being  so  much  above  the  general  level  of  the 
country  below,  all  of  them  can  be  taken  from  their  native  channel  at 
varying  expenses  and  conveyed  over  the  lands  below  and  used  in  con- 
verting into  productive  soil  which  would  otherwise  be  uncertain  in 
production  for  lack  of  moisture.  Running  in  a  northwesterly  direc- 
tion in  the  vicinity  of  the  source  of  the  Milk  river  is  a  high  ridge 
which  separates  the  chief  source  of  that  stream  from  the  main  range 
of  the  mountains.  This  state  of  affairs  will  account  for  the  fact  that 
late  in. the  summer  season  but  little  water  is  found  in  the  lower  Milk 
river,  because  there  is  but  one  branch  of  that  stream  that  has  its 
origin  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Immediately  behind  this  high  ridge,  and  between  it  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  lie  the  beautiful  lakes  known  as  St.  Mary's  lakes.  The 
lower  one  of  these  lakes  is  about  six  miles  in  length,  varying  in  width 
from  one-quarter  to  one-half  mile.  The  upper  lake,  which  is  about 
fifteen  miles  in  length  and  somewhat  wider  than  the  lower  one,  lies 
further  into  the  mountains,  and  is  really  the  receptacle  of  nearly  all 
the  waters  flowing  into  the  two.  The  outlet  of  these  lakes  is  the  St. 
Mary's  river,  which  runs  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  following  the 
north  side  of  the  high  ridge  above  referred  to.  After  a  run  of  about 


IRRIGATION    IN   THE    COUNTIES.  85 

ten,  miles  it  crosses  the  boundary  into  Canada.  Emptying  into  St. 
Mary's  river,  about  two  miles  below  the  lower  lake,  is  the  Swift  Cur- 
rent, a  stream  about  one-third  the  size  of  St.  Mary's.  This  stream 
could  easily  be  turned  into  the  lower  St.  Mary's  lake,  thus  increasing 
the  volume  of  St.  Mary's  river  about  one-third  where  it  leaves  the 
lake.  Within  a  mile  or  two  of  the  Canadian  boundary  is  a  deep 
chasm  in  the  high  ridge  above  referred  to.  I  am  led  to  believe  from 
the  imperfect  observations  it  was  possible  to  make  that  the  highest 
point  within  this  chasm  is  considerably  lower  than  the  level  of  the 
water  at  the  outlet  of  the  lower  lake.  I  am  also  led  to  believe  that  a 
careful  survey  would  show  that  it  were  possible  and  feasible  to  take 
the  waters  out  of  St.  Mary's  river  through  the  chasm  referred  to,  and 
following  the  east  side  of  the  ridge  formerly  spoken  of,  crossing  at 
the  water  level  the  various  tributaries  of  the  Milk  river,  adding  these 
streams  to  the  water  in  the  ditch  until  the  water  could  be  brought  out 
upon  the  high  plain  and  distributed  over  the  same. 

The  feasibility  of  the  distribution  I  think  is  unquestionable,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  there  is  a  very  perceptible  incline  in  the  whole  coun- 
try from  the  mountains  east  for  several  hundred  miles.  I  am  also  led 
to  believe  that  the  large  tributary  of  the  Marias,  known  as  the  'Cut 
Bank,"  could  also  be  taken  from  its  channel  and  made  to  join  the 
waters  of  the  St.  Mary,  and  thus  could  be  secured  sufficient  water  to 
reclaim  by  irrigation  at  least  300,000  acres  of  excellent  soil,  which  is 
otherwise  unproductive  for  want  of  irrigation.  The  benefits  that 
would  be  derived  from  such  a  vast  reclaim  of  otherwise  unproductive 
territory  is  in  keeping  with  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking.  The 
possibilities  of  benefits  to  be  thus  derived  are  so  great  that  it  seems  to 
me  a  matter  well  worth  the  consideration  of  Congress  and  justifying 
a  suitable  appropriation  to  determine  whether  such  results  are  really 
possible.  To  ascertain  this  a  topographical  survey  should  be  made. 
At  present  no  person  is  sufficiently  interested,  otherwise  than  Con- 
gress, to  justify  the  expense  in  making  such  a  survey.  A  very  trifling 
amount  only  would  be  required  to  ascertain  whether  the  waters  could 
be  obtained  in  the  manner  indicated.  If  such  were  found  to  be  true, 
then  a  more  complete  survey  could  be  made.  If  it  should  transpire 
that  it  were  not  possible  to  carry  the  waters  in  the  manner  indicated, 
no  further  expense  need  be  incurred.  1  am  satisfied  that  here  is  the 
greatest  opportunity  now  presenting  itself  in  this  State  for  Congress 
to  do  a  great  service  to  the  State,  and  I  sincerely  believe  you  will  be 
entirely  justified  in  calling  the  attention  of  Congress  to  this  matter 
by  urging  action  on  its  part  necessary  to  determine  the  true  situation 
of  the  case.  J.  BOOKWALTER. 


86  APPENDIX. 

MISCELLANEOUS  COMMENTS. 

At  the  special  request  of  Senator  T.  C.  Power  the  fol- 
lowing is  printed. 

NEW  DEPARTURE  MINES,  BEAVERHEAD  Co.,  MONT.  ) 
FEBRUARY  2oth?  1892.          \ 

Senator   T.  C.  Poivcr,  Senate  Chamber,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

DEAR  SIR:  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  you  have  so  far  recovered  from 
jour  late  illness  as  to  resume  your  seat  in  the  Senate.  I  feel  now  as 
if  I  am  justified  in  writing  you  what  I  have  intended  to  write  ever 
since  the  adjournment  of  the  "Arid  Land  Convention,"  at  Helena. 
Allow  me  to  congratulate  you  on  the  stand  you  have  taken  on  the  arid 
land  question.  It  is  the  only  tenable  one  for  us,  in  my  judgment. 
The  government  owes  it  to  the  whole  people  to  reclaim  these  lands 
and  make  them  fit  for  cultivation  and  habitation.  To  cede  them  to 
the  states  and  territories  is  to  give  to  them  the  bone  after  the  flesh  has 
been  taken  from  it.  Those  favoring  the  cession  say  sell  the  lands  and 
with  .the  proceeds  reclaim  them.  Who  would  buy  them?  Not  one 
section  to-day  could  be  sold  individually  or  separately  were  they  ceded. 
To  sell  them  would  bring  us  back  to  your  idea  as  expressed  at  Hel- 
ena. Trusts  and  corporations  only  would  eventually  acquire  these 
lands,  and  the  people  would  be  under  their  yoke  and  at  their  mercy. 
Much  can  be  said  against  the  cession  of  these  lands.  I  fully  endorse 
your  course  and  it  meets  with  my  unqualified  approbation. 

Yours  Truly,  LAWRENCE  A.  BROWN. 


In  explaining  his  position  on  the  arid  land  question,  in 
the  San  Francisco  Chronicle,  Senator  Power  said: 

I  spoke  only  for  my  own  State,  where  the  people  do  not  want  arid 
lands  thrust  upon  them,  i  cannot  speak  for  California,  because  the 
conditions  may  be  such  that  what  is  good  for  us  might  be  bad  for  that 
State.  My  claim  is  that  the  plan  to  take  the  arid  lands  away  from  the 
Federal  Government  is  the  scheme  of  a  few  men,  acting  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  railroads,  to  increase  their  holdings  and  place  in  their 
hands  a  supreme  power  that  cannot  be  otherwise  than  vicious.  More 
than  that,  a  consummation  of  this  big  job  would  result  in  the  organ- 
ization of  a  giant  political  machine,  that  in  far-reaching  effect  and  un- 
limited possibilities  would  cause  Tammany  to  appear  as  a  pigmy. 

For  instance,  in  Montana  there  are  40,000,000  acres  of  unsurveyed 
arid  lands;  the  railroads  have  1 7,000,000  acres  more.  If  this  scheme 
should  be  carried  out  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  these  men  from 
going  to  the  railroad  men,  who  are  willing,  and  saying  to  them, 
"Here,  we  are  mutually  interested  in  this  thing.  We  will  pool  our 


APPENDIX.  87 

issues  and  combine  our  strength  and  elect  a  Governor  who  will  be  our 
creature.  Thus  we  will  control  all  appointments,  and  we  will  control 
all  this  land,  as  well  as  politics  generally." 

Now,  do  you  see  the  immense  power  these  men  would  have?  I 
will  show  you  more.  To  survey  these  lands  in  Montana  alone  would 
cost  much  more  than  a  million  dollars.  Do  you  see  the  possibilities 
in  that  single  little  item?  Now,  to  go  further,  Montana  is  forced  to 
run  into  debt  to  survey  its  little  school  lands.  To  survey  all  these 
arid  lands  would  pitch  it  head  over  heels  in  debt,  and  with  a  body  of 
unscrupulous  men  in  control  it  would  never  extricate  itself.  Then 
the  State  would  be  forced,  just  as  any  unsuccessful  business  man  is 
forced  to  do  with  his  goods,  to  virtually  give  the  land  away  in  order 
to  realize  enough  to  pay  its  indebtedness,  and  that  is  the  point  in  the 
proceedings  where  these  political  bosses  and  unscrupulous  conspira- 
tors would  step  in  and  for  a  song  increase  their  holdings. 

This  is  all  feasible,  and  I  charge  that  there  is  now  a  conspiracy 
afoot  in  which  all  those  points  have  been  considered  and  adopted. 
Of  course  the  railroads  are  in  it.  The  biggest  man  in  the  Salt  Lake 
Convention,  which  swallowed  the  bait,  hook  and  all,  and  the  man  who 
more  than  any  other  carried  the  scheme  through,  was  the  general  land 
agent  of  the  Southern  and  Central  Pacific  railroads.  He  absolutely 
joked  the  Convention  into  adopting  his  policy.  In  Montana  we  want 
the  arid  lands  to  be  kept  in  control  of  the  Government,  and  we  want 
that  Government  to  adopt  some  plan  by  which  a  portion  of  the  land 
can  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  the  reclamation  of  the  whole. 
We  stand  ready  to  adopt  anything  that  is  fair  to  all  the  people. 


Photomount 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 

,  N.  y. 

JAN  21,  1908 


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